Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ

Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ the Event

The Ignorosphere: Our Connection to SpaceÌý

Where's the edge of space? This question was asked repeatedly by news reporters during the summer of 2021, when Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson were competing to earn the title of astronaut. Depending on who was being interviewed, the answer might have been "in the mesosphere". The mesosphere is in the middle of the atmosphere, about 35 to 55 miles above the surface. It is often referred to as the "ignorosphere" because of a historical lack of attention. But like the stereotypical middle child, the complex character of the mesosphere is well suited for its role in connecting Earth and the lower atmosphere to the upper atmosphere and space. This talk will focus on investigations using satellite observations to untangle some of this complexity. These observations show that variations in mesospheric clouds over the south pole are connected to changes in the atmosphere as far away as the north pole. The measurements also reveal how the mesosphere might channel energy from storms in the magnetosphere, paving a path for that energy to impact the lower atmosphere and possibly even weather at the surface. The talk will highlight the starring role of the infamous polar vortex in these investigations.

Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ the Speaker

Cora Randall is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, and in the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. She has taught graduate classes in atmospheric remote sensing and radiative transfer, and undergraduate classes in atmospheric chemistry, weather, and climate. She was chair of the Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences department for 5 years, and has led a number of university activities, including co-chairing a 4-year overhaul of the Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder College of Arts and Sciences undergraduate general education requirements. Professor Randall's main area of expertise is remote sensing of the earth’s middle atmosphere, with particular emphasis on the polar regions. She investigates processes related to stratospheric ozone depletion, polar mesospheric clouds, and atmospheric coupling through solar and magnetospheric energetic particle precipitation. Professor Randall is a current or prior member of numerous international satellite science teams. She is principal investigator on the Cloud Imaging and Particle Size (CIPS) instrument onboard the NASA Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite, as well as the Wave-Induced Atmospheric Variability Enterprise (WAVE), a NASA Heliophysics science center. She has won a number of awards in recognition of her scientific contributions, and is an elected fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ the Series

The Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder Retired Faculty Association (UCBRFA) presents the distinguished professors of the University of Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ, aÌýlecture and presentation series featuring some of our finest professors andÌýtheir extraordinary research and scholarly work.