Led by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at University of Colorado-Boulder, with the University of Central Florida as a partner, GOLD’s goal is to observe the interactions between the ionosphere and thermosphere and answer a few key questions:

Large events in the lower atmosphere, like hurricanes and tsunamis, can create atmospheric waves known as gravity waves that propagate into the ionosphere and beyond. Because the density of the atmosphere decreases with increasing altitude above the ground, the amplitude (or, magnitude) of these gravity waves can increase exponentially as they propagate upward. Further, above the thermosphere, energized particles and solar storms carry electric and magnetic fields and can disrupt the upper atmosphere, including the ionosphere. What kind of an effect do all these things have on us?

So far, we know that 1) there is a relationship between gravity waves in the lower atmosphere and in the upper atmosphere, and 2) this relationship leads to the exchange of natural and human-made chemicals between the layers of the atmosphere. However, overall, most effects are not well-understood, which is why GOLD is so important. All of these factors make it very difficult to predict changes in the ionosphere, yet these changes have an impact on satellites in the near Earth-space environment. With GOLD data, scientists can improve space weather forecasting models and better understand what effect all of these factors have on the satellites on which we rely.

What kind of data will GOLD provide scientists, and what can scientists glean from these data? GOLD is an imaging spectrograph, which is a kind of instrument that breaks light (electromagnetic radiation) down into its component wavelengths and measures their intensities. In particular, GOLD will focus on the UV region of the electromagnetic spectrum, because the interaction between UV radiation and particles of different composition provides information about temperature and relative abundance of different kinds of particles—such as, for example, atomic oxygen and molecular nitrogen. By observing these particles and determining their abundance, scientists can determine how such particles affect ionospheric conditions.