SCAR XXXVII Paper 26: Proposed Programme Planning Group - Antarctic Geospace and ATmosphere reseArch (AGATA) Popular

XXXVII SCAR Delegates Meeting
5-7 September 2022, Goa, India

SCAR XXXVII Paper 26: Proposal for a Scientific Research Programme Planning Group - Antarctic Geospace and ATmosphere reseArch (AGATA)

Agenda Item: 4.2.3
Person Responsible: David Bromwich
Report Authors: Lucilla Alfonsi (Italy), Nicolas Bergeot (Belgium) and core membership

Summary

This document outlines the proposal for establishing a Programme Planning Group for developing a SCAR Scientific Research Programme (SRP) provisionally entitled “Antarctic Geospace and ATmosphere reseArch” (AGATA). The proposed SRP will contribute to answering the outstanding scientific questions within atmospheric and space physics, namely:

• How are different atmospheric layers coupled in the polar regions?
• How does the upper polar atmosphere respond to increased geomagnetic activity, including energy transfer from space into the ionosphere?
• How can we improve the understanding of the Antarctic atmosphere by radio signals from the GNSS or other satellites, and from ground based radars?

The proposed SRP will bring together communities that investigate the polar atmosphere and geospace, with a particular focus on Antarctica, but also with a bi-polar perspective. AGATA will be a coordinated, worldwide effort to monitor, investigate and better understand the physics of the polar atmosphere and the impact of the Sun-Earth interactions on the polar regions. AGATA will take advantage of existing and planned instrumentation in Antarctica, but also in the Arctic and satellite-based observations, and it will aim for coordinated research efforts and data exchange.