On April 21, 2023, Porf. Koltovskoi Igor and Prof. Mordosova Olesia from the Shafer Institute of Cosmophysical Research and Aeronomy(ShICRA), as well as Prof. Syrenova Tatiana Evgenievna from the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences visited the NSSC and had in-depth discussions with the high-altitude atmosphere.
The two sides introduced the progress of their own ground observation station construction, optical instrument equipment development, and scientific research, and had in-depth discussions and exchanges on the design of optical detection experimental plans and observation data analysis methods. The three teams jointly analyzed their respective advantages in data observation and scientific research and identified the main physical phenomena and processes of the middle and upper atmosphere that can be jointly observed. They also discussed topics suitable for further cooperation and research.
Further, Prof. Yajun Zhu and Director Liwen Ren from IMCP reported on the progress of the Chinese Meridian Project (CMP), International Meridian Circle Program (IMCP), and the joint research program between IMCP and the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission. The Russian representatives expressed a strong interest in and highly praised the CMP, IMCP, and SMILE mission.
On April 23, 2023, the Russian representatives visited the Hainan Ground Observation Station of the NSSC and conducted airglow observation experiments and analysis using the All-sky airglow imager with the members of the Upper Atmosphere Composition group.
Under the framework of the China-Russia Space Weather Joint Laboratory and the International Meridian Circle Program, the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences reached a cooperation intention and planned to conduct joint observations at the Russian station.
The polar regions are the entry points for solar wind energy and particles into the Earth's space environment and the energy source for catastrophic space weather phenomena such as geomagnetic storms, ionospheric storms, and particle storms. The Earth's magnetic field is nearly perpendicular to the incoming solar wind. Meanwhile, various dynamic processes in outer space are projected onto the polar regions along the magnetic field lines, creating auroras, magnetic field disturbances, plasma convection, radio wave absorption, and scintillation in the polar ionosphere, which contain rich space weather information. The polar upper atmosphere is the most active part of the Earth's atmosphere and near-Earth space, and it has a strong coupling with the middle and lower atmosphere, showing sensitive and significant responses to global changes. Conducting observations of the polar upper atmosphere physics is crucial for studying, monitoring, and forecasting space environment and space weather. The Russian observation station is located in high latitudes, and joint observations are expected to advance research on the physics mechanisms of the polar upper atmosphere, as well as the propagation and evolution of large-scale atmospheric and ionospheric disturbances.
