Thermosphere Studies Using Accelerometer Measurements from the CHAMP and GRACE Satellites
Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences
University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado
VERSION 2.0 Density and Winds are now Available
Welcome to our web site. Our research work involves the extraction of thermosphere densities and winds between 350 and 500 km altitude from the sensitive accelerometers on board the CHAMP and GRACE satellites, and utilization of these data to study the impact of solar disturbances (coronal mass ejections, flares) on the Earth's thermosphere. This is one facet of the new interdisciplinary field known as Space Weather. Our studies include the global thermosphere response to geomagnetic storms, short- and long-term solar variability, traveling atmospheric disturbances, propagating waves, the effects of solar flares upon the thermosphere, and relationships between these phenomena and the ability to accurately predict satellite positions. Please browse our presentations and publications using the sidebar menu to the left. Many of these are downloadable.
We also provide a number of data files that are downloadable. These include density and wind data averaged on a 3-degree latitude grid covering 2001-2007. The methodology used to deduce densities and winds from the accelerometer data along with estimates of error are provided on this website. Longer-term aspirations of our group include making GRACE density and wind data available on this web site, and utilizing CHAMP and GRACE data to perform a number of scientific studies that draw upon the unique perspective afforded by combining these data sets.
The University of Colorado CHAMP-GRACE Team:
Jeffrey M. Forbes, Professor
R. Steven Nerem, Professor
Eric K. Sutton, PhD Student
Xiaoli Zhang, PhD Student
Dr. Sean Bruinsma, CNES, Toulouse, France, International Collaborator