HR: 0800h
AN: SM21A-0354    [Abstracts]
TI: Polar Gateways to Exploration of Icy Worlds in the Solar System
AU: * Cooper, J F
EM: John.F.Cooper@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Space Physics Data Facility, Code 612.4, Greenbelt, MD 20771
AU: Benson, R F
SM21A-0354 AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd, Greenbelt, MD 20771
AU: Bindschadler, R A
SM21A-0354 AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd, Greenbelt, MD 20771
AU: Mitchell, J W
SM21A-0354 AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd, Greenbelt, MD 20771
AU: Streitmatter, R E
SM21A-0354 AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd, Greenbelt, MD 20771
AU: Green, J L
SM21A-0354 AF: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd, Greenbelt, MD 20771
AU: Bilitza, D
SM21A-0354 AF: Raytheon ITSS, Space Physics Data Facility, Code 612.4, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771
AU: Ng, C
SM21A-0354 AF: Raytheon ITSS, Space Physics Data Facility, Code 612.4, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771
AU: Greeley, R
SM21A-0354 AF: Arizona State University, Dept of Geology, Tempe, AZ 85287-1404
AU: Reinisch, B W
SM21A-0354 AF: University of Massachusetts Lowell, Center for Atmospheric Research, 600 Suffolk St, Lowell, MA 01854
AU: Gogineni, P S
SM21A-0354 AF: University of Kansas, Radar Systems and Remote Sensing Lab., 2291 Irving Hill Rd , Lawrence, KS 66045
AU: Clem, J M
SM21A-0354 AF: Bartol Research Institute, 217 Sharp Laboratory, University of Delaware , Newark, DE 19716
AU: Johnson, R E
SM21A-0354 AF: University of Virginia, Engineering Physics, Thornton Hall Room B103 , Charlottesville, VA 22904
AB: The polar cryosphere and ionosphere of Earth provide unique testbeds for active radio sounding and are gateways to exploration of other icy worlds in the solar system such as Europa and Titan. In the context of the International Polar Year and the International Heliophysical Year we are planning coordinated measurements of Antarctic ice sheet stratigraphy, the bottomside polar ionosphere, the polar magnetosphere, and high energy cosmic ray showers from ground level to about 40 km altitude. The analogous environment at Europa is the extremely thin neutral atmosphere but comparably dense ionosphere formed by interaction of the extremely intense radiation environment of the Jovian magnetosphere with surface ices of Europa. The effort proposed to NASA centers around Antarctic circumpolar balloon flights at high altitude during IPY-IHY, and thereafter, of a new radio sounder instrument called the Balloon Adaptable Radio Ice-Ionosphere Sounder (BARIIS) as an add-on package to available cosmic ray balloon payloads. This instrument would simultaneously sound at MHz radio frequencies, above and below ionospheric cutoff, the subsurface ice below the balloon ground track and the bottomside ionosphere above the balloon. Carried out in conjunction with direct cosmic ray shower measurements by the primary balloon payload, ground digisonde measurements, and geospace satellite monitoring of space weather, the ionospheric sounding is expected to improve knowledge of polar D region response to short-term cosmic ray variations during the few weeks of each flight. Correlative measurements will be made by the balloon and ground stations in conjunction with those of the comparable Radio Plasma Imager instrument on the IMAGE satellite in the polar magnetosphere. For the Antarctic cryosphere the subsurface ice sounding offers the prospect of new discoveries and improved measurements for Europa-like features such as isochronal layers, subglacial lakes and ice streams, while also contributing to the cumulative knowledge of polar ice sheet thickness and change with time in comparison to previous surveys. For polar ionosphere-magnetosphere-heliosphere studies our Polar Gateways team is part of the conditionally endorsed ICESTAR-IHY (Interhemispheric Conjugacy in Geospace Phenomena and their Heliospheric Drivers) lead science group for IPY. Our cryospheric measurements are included as part of the GIIPSY (Global Inter-agency IPY Polar Snapshot Year) group.
DE: 0728 Ice shelves
DE: 2431 Ionosphere/magnetosphere interactions (2736)
DE: 2475 Polar cap ionosphere
DE: 2479 Solar radiation and cosmic ray effects
DE: 6221 Europa
SC: SPA-Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005