This Distributed Arrays of Small Instruments (DASI) project will support the development of a network of Personal Space Weather Stations (PSWS). The PSWS is a ground-based, modular, multi-instrument system capable of remote sensing the geospace system. This project is to develop a protoype of an integrated PSWSS which will initially consist of a radio receiver instrument, a ground magnetometer, and a central computer. The modular nature of the system will allow for the later addition of new instruments. This prototype is being developed in collaboration between multiple universities and the ham radio community through the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) collective and the TAPR amateur radio engineering organization, who would eventually host instruments at their local sites. A primary goal of the PSWS project is to make it affordable to individuals. In this way, the PSWS network of instruments is easily expandable and can grow organically by engaging the general public. At the same time, stations can also be sited and managed by professional institutions, guaranteeing required coverage.
The goal of the PSWS is to collect data on variety of phenomena - Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances and ionospheric absorption events, geomagnetic storms and substorms, magnetospheric ultra low frequency (ULF) pulsations, and geomagnetically-induced currents (GICs). TIDs exist over such large spatial scales that it is currently impossible to track them from source to dissipation. There is a significant lack of data on local effects of geomagnetic storms as well. The PSWS addresses this through the development of instrumentation that can easily be deployed internationally.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
