Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere
Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED)

Science at the Crossroads of the Earth's Atmosphere

TIMED will provide a benchmark for future studies of natural and human-induced changes to the Earth's atmosphere, providing an avenue for early warning of global change.

TIMED, a small remote sensing and imaging spacecraft, will achieve quantitative understanding of the energetics and dynamics of the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere-Ionosphere (MLTI) between ~50 and 200 km. The MLTI is a transition region in which many important processes are known to change dramatically, yet there are only sketchy and incomplete measurements of the region. This is where temperature variations, which increase dramatically with altitude, are largest, and where atmospheric motions are dominated by poorly understood gravity waves and tides.

When the mission is complete, it will have:

• Performed the first focused exploration of the MLTI region - a major link in the solar-terrestrial chain.

• Traced the flow of energy and momentum from the lower into the upper atmosphere.

• Quantified the dramatic influences of the Sun and outer space on the Earth's middle and upper atmosphere, increasing our ability to predict space weather.

• Examined the major energy sources, transport processes and energy sinks in the MLTI, and applied this information to define the channels by which energy enters into, travels through, and is lost from the region.

• Supplied knowledge of the upper atmospheric circulation pattern and its role in the transport of chemicals important in ozone chemistry.

Links to TIMED instruments:

• GUVI - Global Ultraviolet Imager

• SEE - Solar EUV Experiment

• TIDI - TIMED Doppler Interferometer

• SABER - Sounding of the Atmosphere Using Broadband Emission Radiometry

Click here for a larger, JPEG representation of the figure at the top of the page.

Solar Connections: A Science Initiative for NASA Space Physics

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