OPERATIONS: CCORE
MISSION:
To advance Earth and Space Climate research and education by providing comprehensive ground-based observations, promoting the open sharing of data, and engaging students through hands-on learning opportunities.
VISION:
CCORE strives to be a global leader and multidisciplinary hub at the forefront of Earth’s environment and near-space sciences utilizing a diverse cluster of ground-based instruments strategically positioned in the U.S. CCORE’s commitment extends to developing a pioneering, accessible database that catalyzes breakthroughs in understanding climate change effects, supports global sustainability efforts, and aids in providing inputs to the climate crisis.
HISTORY:
In November 2015, a Remote Optical Facility (ROF) was established in Culebra, a small island Northeast of the Puerto Rican archipelago, as a part of the former Arecibo Observatory (AO). At that time, the scientific community needed alternative simultaneous optical and radio observations during the AO ionospheric modification campaigns and regular incoherent scatter radar (ISR) operations.
Effective on August 15, 2023, the former ROF became the Climate Center for Open Research and Education – CCORE, managed and supported by the Florida Space Institute (FSI) at the University of Central Florida (UCF). After the closure of the AO, CCORE carried on the legacy of the AO by moving, hosting, and operating various passive and active optical and radio systems once operated at the observatory.
CCORE has supported observational campaigns, projects, and scientific proposals in several fields since its establishment. The database generated by CCORE has been used in peer-reviewed publications and conference papers.
INFRASTRUCTURE:
Currently, CCORE has two units on the island of Culebra. CCORE1 unit hosts four climate-controlled containers with a weather station, optical and radio instruments, a control room, and lodging for scientists and technicians. A relevant feature of the CCORE1 is its sustainability: a solar system with backup feeds the facility, and the water collected from the rain is kept in a reservoir for use. This feature is particularly crucial for maintaining operations during the Atlantic Hurricane Season. CCORE2 hosts a VHF all-sky Meteor Radar, cameras to monitor the night sky, and a storage container.
CCORE UNIQUENESS:
Clear Skies, Low RFI and Light Contamination
CCORE units are located at Culebra, a small island Northeast of the Puerto Rican archipelago with 70% of its territory dedicated to nature reserves. The low population rate and the geographical features of Culebra’s island result in little light contamination, clear skies, and very low Radio Frequency Interference (RRFI), making it ideal for optical and radio observations.
STRATEGIC U. LOCATION
Clear Skies, Low RFI and Light Contamination
CCORE is the only U.S. center with a cluster of ground-based instruments in the strategic Caribbean region. CCORE is also located in a geomagnetically mid-latitude while geographically a low-latitude site with unique aeronomical consequences. Besides, CCORE received several optical and radio instruments from the legacy Arecibo Observatory, and it is committed to continue adding to the AO extensive aeronomical database offering unique resources to support unique Climate, long-term changes, and Space research.
TROPOSPHERIC FORCING:
CCORE is located in a “hot spot” for convection activity generated by Extreme Weather Systems (EWS), such as tropical storms and hurricanes. The cluster of ground-based instrumentation in CCORE is valuable to provide a database from the Caribbean that will help estimate the models’ accuracy and validate satellite data products.
IONOSPHERIC IRREGULARITES
CORE location is strategic to observe ionospheric irregularities and scintillation that tend to maximize at low latitudes and in the tropics and can induce errors in radio signals.
South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly (SAMA)
Projections show that the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly (SAMA) conjugate point is drifting towards the Puerto Rican upper atmosphere, which may change the local ionosphere through interhemispheric plasma flux. The data from CCORE will be a great resource for the aeronomical community to observe the changes on the upper atmosphere caused by SAMA.
Puerto Rico’s geographic location regarding the American sector (shown as a star) and its respective conjugate points from 1975 to 2030 (light blue arrow). The white southern ovals are the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly (SAMA) based on the total magnetic intensities of 23.0 and 22.5μT, while the northern ones are the SAMA conjugate points at 350 km of altitude. The light gray arrow shows the minimum magnetic total intensities drift from 1970 to 2070. The background color scale represents the foF2 frequency displaying the Northern and Southern peaks of the Appleton Anomaly (Courtesy: C.G.M. Brum).
CLIMATE CHANGE AND LONG TERM TRENDS
After the closure of the Arecibo Observatory, several optical and radio instruments were transferred to CCORE which is committed to continuing adding to this exclusive and extensive database. This initiative is crucial to future studies of long-term atmospheric changes in low latitudes and signatures of the climate on the Earth’s upper atmosphere.
SOCIETAL IMPACT ON THE LOCAL UNREPRESENTATIVE COMMUNITY:
CCORE units are located in the ESPCoR jurisdiction of Puerto Rico, and their observational capability is aligned with the jurisdiction’s mission of enhancing the research competitiveness on the Island. The ongoing research activities at CCORE units are seeds for future infrastructure development in Culebra, a remote region of Puerto Rico with a poverty rate of 23.5% (source Census 2022).
Previously, the National Science Foundation data revealed that Latin-American participation in geosciences does not represent the US population (Bernard and Cooperdok, 2018). With the end of operations of the Arecibo Observatory Cooperative Agreement in Puerto Rico, the underrepresentation of Latin Americans in the space science field is expected to increase even further. CCORE is committed to mitigating this impact by offering educational activities to the local community.
OPERATIONS:
CCORE operates remotely 24/7. The units have smart features to monitor and control temperature, power outage, humidity, and other features required by each instrument. External and internal security cameras with motion are installed in the outdoor areas and inside the containers to monitor the units and instruments’ conditions. We have two local dedicated technicians who support the operations, campaigns and troubleshoot the cluster of instruments at CCORE units.
INSTRUMENTS:
CCORE’s current observational capability ranges from ~20 km to ~ 250 km of altitude and includes all-sky imagers, photometers, spectrometer, VLF receiver, HF receiver, spectrometer, red line Fabry Perot, GNSSs, high-speed camera for TLE observation, LF magnetic field sensor, riometer, an aerosol lidar, and an all-sky meteor radar.
CCORE STAFF MEMBERS
COLLABORATE WITH US:
CCORE welcomes new instruments and collaborations. As part of FSI, a non-profit soft money institution, CCORE relies on external funding to support and operate. Resources are needed to keep the surroundings, utilities, maintenance, and technical personnel assistance to troubleshoot the hosted systems. Please contact us for future collaborations on projects and proposals. It would be a great pleasure to work with you.