Brentha Thurairajah
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, VA·Earth & Environmental Science
Waves ripple through Earth's atmosphere much like waves on the ocean, carrying energy and momentum from the weather layer near the ground up to the thin upper atmosphere hundreds of kilometers overhead. Gravity waves, oscillations driven by buoyancy, can travel into the thermosphere (the hot upper layer above about 90 km) and disturb the ionosphere, the electrically charged layer that affects satellite communication and GPS signals.
- Fields
Earth & Environmental Science
Physics
- Topics
gravity waves
thermosphere
ionosphere
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Dec 2027
What they work on
- Measure how much of the large-scale gravity wave activity in the thermosphere comes from the troposphere versus from sources above the stratosphere, using controlled SD-WACCM-X whole-atmosphere model simulations.
- Determine how large-scale gravity waves change wind structure and global circulation in the upper atmosphere, combining model runs with ICON-MIGHTI and TIMED-SABER satellite data from 30 to 250 km altitude.
- Examine how large-scale gravity waves alter atmospheric tides and planetary waves, the global-scale oscillations that help couple the lower and upper atmosphere, using simulations and satellite observations.
More about the research
How much of this upper-atmosphere wave activity comes from sources near the ground versus sources higher up is still not known in numbers, and that gap limits space weather forecasting.
Why it matters
Satellite communication and GPS accuracy depend on conditions in the ionosphere, which is shaken partly by waves rising from the lower atmosphere. Clarifying where these gravity waves come from and how they interact with tides could improve space weather forecasts that account for lower-atmosphere influences, benefiting operators and users of satellite and navigation systems.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Xian Lu
Clemson University, SC·Physics
Determine the role of Alfvén waves in producing auroral arcs, compared with steady particle precipitation, using midnight short-wave infrared all-sky imaging combined with photometers, imagers and the PFISR radar at Poker Flat.
Virginia Harvey
University of Colorado Boulder, CO·Earth & Environmental Science
Determine whether the Sun's crossings of cold galactic clouds compressed the heliosphere and altered Earth's radiation, atmosphere and temperature, using astrophysical, heliospheric and whole-atmosphere simulations.
Edwin Mierkiewicz
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach, FL·Earth & Environmental Science
Measure hydrogen Balmer-alpha and Balmer-beta glow from ground observatories across the Americas, using Fabry–Perot interferometers and photometers, to fill nightside gaps left by NASA's Carruthers Geocorona Observatory.
The school
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: 35 labs on PI Pages, $657M a year on research, 496 research doctorates a year.
More about Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
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