Investigating the Role of Ionosphere-Thermosphere-Mesosphere Coupling on Auroral Systems Using GEMINI

The Ionosphere-Thermosphere-Mesosphere (ITM) is a very coupled system spanning many time and length scales, with large energy transfer into the neutral atmosphere modifying composition/density or neutral forcing causing changes in ion dynamics. Previous work has shown that the presence of neutral winds in the thermosphere and mesosphere in auroral latitudes can have significant effects on ion dynamics, particularly current closure. In this work, we aim to better describe Thermospheric wind profiles through the use of ground based instrumentation with the goal of understanding how the ionospheric state changes in the presence of strong neutral forcing. This will be done through the use of high-resolution data-driven simulations in the GEMINI model, a physics-based, local-scale ionospheric model. These simulations will be generated using data from instruments located at the Poker Flat Research Range, e.g. auroral imagers, incoherent scatter radar (PFISR), Scanning Doppler Imagers, rockets, meteor radars, and other sources. Finally, we'll explore incorporating self-consistent two-way ion-neutral coupling through FIGMENTS, a framework designed to couple GEMINI to MAGIC, a local-scale neutral atmospheric model, to better represent the ITM system during auroral events. The successful modelling of this ITM coupling would allow more robust data analysis by including the impacts of neutral dynamics in auroral experiments, such as the recently launched GNEISS (Lynch 397/398) rocket mission, and the heavily-diagnosed auroral activity throughout the winter 2026 auroral campaign. This work will help address questions as to how ITM feedback processes affect the time evolution of the auroral system.