WHAT IS FACTS?

The project FACTs: “Forcing of the Upper Atmosphere from Coupling of the Troposphere during extreme weather Systems” is a Collaborative Proposal granted by NSF in 2022 (NSF #2221770) that aims to address open questions in aeronomy related to the vertical coupling of the Earth’s ionosphere-thermosphere (IT) system. In particular, FACTs proposes to explore the energetic waves generated by Extreme Weather Systems (EWS), which yield atmospheric oscillations, to enhance our knowledge of how tropospheric forcing impacts the ionosphere.

The long-term database generated during the 3-year term of FACTs and thereafter, will be used to advance the modeling studies and numerical investigations regarding the energy transferred, dissipation, and wave features under different scenarios of EWS. Also, the FACTs database will allow for better quantification of the EWS tropospheric driver and the atmospheric-ionospheric variability generated by it, providing tools to resolve specific physical mechanisms for the EWS wave excitation and ensuing propagation related to the observed perturbations in the middle to the upper atmosphere. FACTs’ long-term database can also increase the accuracy of simulations predicting both local weather and potential adverse effects of climate change.

FACTs’ is led by PI Dr. Terra and Co-PI Dr. Brum and the team includes researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology and Penn State University, who are experts in the neutral and ionized atmosphere, and studies involving radio, optical, and satellite data.

The observational strategy originally proposed by FACTs included the cluster of instruments at the Arecibo Observatory (AO) and its former Remote Optical Facility (ROF). With the closure of AO for science operations, CCORE became the operational headquarters for the FACTs project.