by Freddy Neumeyer, GUVI Summer Intern

 

The ever-so-necessary how are my tax dollars helping me question. The answer lies in our beloved satellite technology. The technology that allows you to do everything from watch two-hundred channels to communicate across the globe. The Ionosphere (the ionized part of the Earth's atmosphere) responds to various disruptions in space weather. This leads to changes in how radio waves travel in the upper atmosphere which can, in turn, cause blackouts and disrupt satellite transmissions. Imagine losing your long distance connection during that ever so important call to Zimbabwe. Looking for an answer you turn to your meteorologist, who smiles and tells you the weather is warm with a 50% chance of rain. Of course, you'd still like an explanation for these disruptions. You talked to the wrong kind of weather person - you need someone who understands Space Weather. Well, we've found that the upper atmosphere (the ionosphere and Thermosphere) are the doors that will lead to your answers, but we need a key. That's where GUVI comes in. GUVI will provide us with new ways of looking at how the Ionosphere responds to changes in Space Weather.

If efficiently uniting the world through satellite communication is not your thing, then perhaps you'd like to know exactly what we as humans are doing to our atmosphere. GUVI's measurements will make important contributions to our understanding of the impact humanity has on the atmosphere. GUVI will measure the way that the Earth's upper atmosphere responds to global warming. As you may have heard, global warming is real and results from our love of the good life, which includes everything from three square meals a day to SUVs. The use of fossil fuels, like coal and oil, have led to warming where we reside. The same gas that makes it hotter where we live and breathe makes it colder in the upper atmosphere (go figure). GUVI and the other instruments on TIMED will measure this cooling.

Unlike many space-related projects, GUVI can provide its data to millions of users worldwide. The days of satellite data only being available to a select few to analyze is over. This will allow for a greater number (and more accurate) theories to be produced. As everyone knows, the more eyes you have looking at a problem, the more likely you are to solve it. So how does a single satellite instrument provide its data to millions of users? Well, you're looking at it.....the world wide web. GUVI's data products are available via this web site for scientists to download, research, and analyze the information that GUVI has obtained.

Improving information and delivering data to the largest audience possible, that's what puts the GUVI project on the Web...