Nuclear & Plasma Sciences & Social Implications of Technology

While Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation (RO) has shown promise for global monitoring of ionospheric disturbance such as sporadic-E, the integrated nature of the observations makes extracting physical parameters such as the peak layer density difficult.  In this talk, the standard measurement approaches for sporadic-E using ionosondes and GNSS-RO are introduced.  Forward modeling of GNSS-RO signals through sporadic-E are discussed to provide physical insight into the observations and unknowns.  Finally, GNSS-RO and ionosonde observations are compared and contrasted to discuss lessons learned and open questions on using GNSS-RO to monitor sporadic-E.

Location:  885 Centre St. Newton, MA.  Building: Kenny Cottle Conference.  Room Number: Room 202

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Professor Dan Emmons

While Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation (RO) has shown promise for global monitoring of ionospheric disturbance such as sporadic-E, the integrated nature of the observations makes extracting physical parameters such as the peak layer density difficult.  In this talk, the standard measurement approaches for sporadic-E using ionosondes and GNSS-RO are introduced.  Forward modeling of GNSS-RO signals through sporadic-E are discussed to provide physical insight into the observations and unknowns.  Finally, GNSS-RO and ionosonde observations are compared and contrasted to discuss lessons learned and open questions on using GNSS-RO to monitor sporadic-E.

Biography:

Lt Col Daniel J. Emmons is Senior Military Faculty and Associate Professor of Physics at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He attended San Diego State University where he received a commission from the Reserve Officer Training Program, Detachment 075. After graduation, he led collateral hazards analysis efforts for the 711th Human Performance Wing at Brooks City Base, Texas before attending the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) for a Master’s in Applied Physics with an emphasis in Space Weather. Subsequently, he was assigned to the Space Vehicles Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico where he directed ionospheric research in support of the Intelligence Community. Following Kirtland, he attended AFIT for a PhD in Applied Physics with an emphasis in Plasma Physics in support of high energy lasers. In 2017, he was assigned to AFIT as an Assistant Professor of Physics directing the DoD’s only space weather graduate program and leading technical efforts in support of DoD challenges. Recently, he was promoted to Associate Professor and selected as a member of AFIT’s Senior Military Faculty to provide long-term leadership and mentoring to students and faculty.