Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Program of the Antarctic Syowa MST(Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere) / IS(Incoherent Scatter) radar (PANSY)  (Antarctic MST/IS radar)

Outline
PANSY is a plan to introduce the first MST (Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere) /IS (Incoherent Scatter) radar, which is a VHF monostatic pulse Doppler radar, in the Antarctic to Syowa Station (39E, 69S) as an important station observing the earth's environment with the aim to catch the climate change signals that the Antarctic atmosphere shows. This radar consists of about 1000 crossed Yagi antennas having a power of 500kW which allows us to observe the Antarctic atmosphere with fine resolution and good accuracy in a wide height range of 1-500 km. Main targets of this project are sciences of 1. tropospheric circulation induced by Antarctic katabatic winds in the southern hemisphere, 2. effects on the earth climates by small-scale atmospheric phenomena such as gravity waves, tides, and vortical disturbances, 3. clouds appearing only in the polar region. i.e. polar stratospheric clouds that accelerate stratospheric ozone destruction, and polar mesospheric clouds that are observed only after the end of 19th century and hence regarded as canary of the earth climate, 4. polar ionospheric disturbances such as aurora with different view points from conventional observation. 5. The comparison of characteristics of atmospheric phenomena in the low and middle latitude region and ionospheric phenomena in arctic region is another important topic of this project. 6. The interaction of the neutral atmosphere with the ionosphere and magnetosphere as well as 7. the global-scale atmospheric circulation including low and middle latitude regions are also targets of PANSY. The observation data with high resolution obtained by the PANSY radar are also valuable for the certification of the reality of phenomena simulated by high-resolution numerical models. The radar construction would start in 2007 and the observation is supposed to continue for 11 years (one cycle of solar activity)

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
By adding the first MST/IS radar in the Antarctic to those in the middle latitude and equatorial regions, a global radar network can be constructed. This allows us to understand the global view of the atmospheric effects on the earth climate which is one of significant defects of the current climate models. This point is related to Themes 3 and 4. By repeating the radar observations with short time intervals, temporal variations of atmospheric motions can be monitored in the range of minutes to years (Theme 2). Moreover, this observation provides new knowledge of the current status of polar middle atmosphere structure. Thus, this program is also strongly related to the Theme 1.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
The radar development and construction will be performed nationally, but international scientific collaboration using this radar system is highly recommended

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Syowa Station (69S, 39E) in the Antarctic

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: n/a
Antarctic: 01/2007 – 12/2021            

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Icebreaker, snow terrain vehicles and helicopters are needed to transport the radar system, supply parts and oil. A hut to operate the radar is necessary. A power generator is also used.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
A observation hut and power generator. However, if they are considered unnecessary for the other projects, all facilities will be transported back to Japan after 12 year observation period is terminated.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?

Strong support from consortium of national polar operators, national agency, and military is required for the radar construction and transport of materials. The radar operation is possible by an own national operator

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
This project is endorsed by Japanese national committee of IPY 2007-2008 and also endorsed by international organization of IUGG, SCAR, URSI, SCOSTEP and SPARC.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
yes

Feasibility study has been continued for this MST/IS radar in the Antarctic since 2000 before IPY 2007-2008 was planned. Most significant issues for the radar construction and operation, such as transport and power consumption, have been overcome already. By making radar construction earlier, this radar observation can be started in IPY 2007-2008.

How will the project be organised and managed?
This project is organized as one of development projects at National Institute of Polar Research. The research funds so far are mainly from NIPR and Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research of Japan Society of Promotion of Science. Core group members including staff of NIPR and of national universities lead the project in terms of development of radar systems and antenna construction. Project members consisting of potential users have a few meetings in a year to discuss possible sciences by the radar and needed functions.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Homepage (http://pansy.nipr.ac.jp) and brochure to illustrate the radar system and sciences by this project have been already available. Observed profiles of the atmosphere will be provided almost in real time so that people can visit and see the current status of Antarctic atmosphere.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
The observed data will be transferred almost in real time from Syowa Station in the Antarctic to NIPR in Tokyo by using Intelsat communication system and be archived in a data center which can be accessed by users.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
To apply national funding agencies of Japanese government.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
A significant issue of this project is that the radar construction is funded in time for IPY 2007-2008 or not. The science documented in this proposal would not be performed without the fund. But it is possible to do a limited number of science topics with a very much limited system (e.g., 1% of the main system). This observation is also useful to improve the main part of radar system. Thus, even without the fund for the whole system, limited scientific activity related to this project will be performed for IPY 2007-2008.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Associate Professor Kaoru Sato
National Institute of Polar Research
Kaga 1-9-10
Itabashi, Tokyo
173-8515
Japan

Tel: 81-3-3962-4717
Mobile: no
Fax: 81-3-3962-5701
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation