The investigators will conduct a three-year research program during which equatorial electrodynamics and the development of plasma structure will be monitored for the first time in the central Pacific. Understanding the electrodynamics of the low-latitude ionosphere is critical to problems related to the global dynamo system and ion-neutral coupling. The investigators will use a frequency agile radar (FAR) to make the needed measurements. The FAR, currently deployed on the island of Pohnpei in the central Pacific, offers a means to monitor this under-sampled region of the ionosphere. The investigators will minimize costs by using an antenna system already in place on the island. The resulting data will provide the basis for comprehensive investigations of various electrodynamical conditions that lead to plasma structuring in the equatorial ionosphere. The measurements will also support two satellites to be launched within the next two years.
