NEUTRAL ATMOSPHERE - IONOSPHERE COUPLING AT SMALL SCALESSECTIONOBJECTIVES:WE PROPOSE TO ADDRESS NEUTRAL ATMOSPHERE - IONOSPHERE COUPLING AT SMALL SPATIAL SCALES INITIATED BY GRAVITY WAVES (GWS) ARISING FROM VARIOUS SOURCES IN THE LOWER NEUTRAL ATMOSPHERE. SPECIFIC RESEARCH GOALS ARE ANTICIPATED TO INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:1) EXPLORATION OF GW INITIATION OF MSTIDS AT MID-LATITUDES AND THE DEPENDENCE OF GENERATION EFFICIENCY ON GW SCALES ORIENTATIONS AND AMPLITUDES 2) CONTRIBUTIONS BY UPWARD-PROPAGATING OR DUCTED GWS TO MID-LATITUDE SPREAD F AND3) RESPONSES TO SPECIFIC GW SOURCES ESPECIALLY DEEP CONVECTION AND AURORAL HEATING. PROPOSED METHODS:OUR APPROACH WILL EMPLOY TWO STATE-OF-THE-ART MODELS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN APPLIED TO A RANGE OF NEUTRAL AND PLASMA PROBLEMS. THESE INCLUDE:1) A FINITE-VOLUME 3D CODE DESCRIBING GW GENERATION PROPAGATION INTERACTIONS AND INSTABILITIES FROM THE GW SOURCES TO ~300-400 KM IN EITHER A COMPRESSIBLE OR AN ANELASTIC FRAMEWORK AND 2) A 3D ELECTRODYNAMICS CODE THAT DESCRIBES PLASMA INSTABILITIES AND TURBULENCE AND CAN EMPLOY NEUTRAL FORCING IN VARIOUS FIELD AND PLASMA CONFIGURATIONS. IN OUR APPLICATIONS THE NEUTRAL FV CODE WILL PROVIDE THE INITIAL AND BOUNDARY CONDITIONS FOR THE ED CODE WHICH WILL THEN ALLOW US TO EXAMINE THE PLASMA RESPONSES AND THE COUPLING PHYSICS. PERCEIVED SIGNIFICANCE:OUR PROPOSED RESEARCH WOULD ADDRESS NEUTRAL ATMOSPHERE - IONOSPHERE COUPLING AT SMALL SPATIAL SCALES THAT ARE DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE TO QUANTIFY WITH CURRENT OBSERVATIONAL METHODS. OUR RESEARCH FOCUS WOULD ALSO HAVE SPECIFIC RELEVANCE TO SEVERAL STRATEGIC GOALSARTICULATED IN THE NASA HELIOPHYSICS 2009-2030 ROADMAP INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING F3.1 (AND H3.1): "WHAT GOVERNS THE COUPLING OF NEUTRAL AND IONIZED SPECIES?"F3.2 (AND F3.2): "HOW DO COUPLED MIDDLE AND UPPER ATMOSPHERES RESPOND TO EXTERNAL DRIVERS AND TO EACH OTHER?F3.3: "WHAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DRAMATIC VARIABILITY IN MANY OF THE STATE VARIABLES DESCRIBING THE IONOSPHERE-THERMOSPHEREMESOSPHERE (ITM) REGION?"