我國福爾摩沙衛星三號預計於民國九十五年發射升空，六顆福衛三號衛星在約800 公里的軌道上，形成一個繞地球運行的星系。其主要科學目的在於利用福衛三號與GPS (Global Positioning System)人造衛星訊號橫切過地球大氣時，因為大氣折射(refraction)作用所造成之訊號偏折，經由反演法(retrieval)計算可以得到大氣折射指數隨高度之變化，估算出大氣溫度、壓力等參數隨高度變化之全球分佈，同時經由氣象模式計算，則可求得大氣水氣含量，藉此進行有關低層大氣之天氣，以及電離層之全球動態研究，因此福衛三號計畫又稱 COSMIC (Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate)計畫。由於COSMIC 可觀測的範圍遍及全球各地乃至於極區，在極區大氣參數分析上扮演著重要的角色。在太空天氣發生劇烈變化時，往往會在極區帶來大量的粒子下墜(particle precipitation)，產生焦耳加熱(joule heating)等效應，其影響範圍包含全球。本計畫中將利用福爾摩沙衛星三號計畫及現有人造衛星掩星(radio occultation)之觀測資料，分析大氣溫度、壓力與折射率 (refractivity)等參數。此外，應用觀測大氣參數於重力波(gravity wave)之研究。此一計畫將與國際極區年(International Polar Year)之研究相結合，分析極區及高緯度地區長期氣候變遷與大氣波動。本計畫之執行成果，將對我國太空科學研究水準之提升，以及發展未來太空天氣預報相關應用，有著極為重大的貢獻。 FORMOSAT3 is scheduled to launch in early 2006. It consists of six low earth orbit (LEO) satellites at height 800 km. The six LEO satellites form a Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC). Its scientific goal is to utilize the radio occultation (RO) signals to measure the bending angles when the GPS signals transect the atmosphere. The bending angle is then used to infer atmospheric parameters, including refractivity, temperature, pressure, and relative humidity fields of global distributions through inversion schemes and auxiliary information. The number of RO events is around 2500 per day, of which 200 events or so fall into the polar region. Consequently, the FORMOSAT3 observations are expected to play a key role in the weather forecasting and space physics research. In this proposal, it is our intention to extend the use of the FORMOSAT3 data to study atmospheric activities in the polar region, which, through atmospheric activities of particle precipitation, joule heating, and wave dynamics, influences the weather at lower latitudes, essentially climate change. 研究期間：9608 ~ 9707
