International Meridian Circle Program

The Earth is buffered from the ferocious onslaught of the solar wind by a thin layer of matter known as the atmosphere and geospace.This layer absorbs energy from irradiance and outburst from the Sun,as well as from disasters,transient phenomena and anthropogenic emissions originated from Earth.Through complicated physics,the absorbed energy changes the atmospheric and geospace state and sometimes gets re-released to power extreme events such as space weather.Taking place globally,these complicated processes cannot be understood unless they are studied globally.The Chinese scientists have proposed the International Meridian Circle Program(IMCP)to meet this demand.By operating nearly 1000 instruments encompassing all latitudes along with the 120°E–60°W longitudes,IMCP aims,for the first time,to construct comprehensive 3D data representation of the atmosphere and geospace on a global scale and empower interdisciplinary research to tackle key questions related to Earth’s environment and climate change.