METHODOLOGY&MODELS: WE PROPOSE A DATA ANALYSIS/MODELING STUDY OF SOLAR ECLIPSE-RELATED IONOSPHERIC F-REGION ELECTRODYNAMICS USING THE FIRST-PRINCIPLES NRL SAMI3 AND SAMI3/ESF MODELS (HUBA NRL). THIS EFFORT WILL AUGMENT A GROUND-BASED ECLIPSE EXPERIMENT ALREADY FUNDED BY THE NSF. SCIENCE GOALS&OBJECTIVES: USING THE DATA FROM THE GROUND-BASED RESOURCES AND THE IN-SITU OBSERVATIONS WE WILL SEED THE SAMI MODEL AND ADDRESS SEVERAL KEY SCIENCE OBJECTIVES: 1. STUDY THE EFFECTS OF CONJUGATE HEMISPHERE COUPLING ALONG MAGNETIC FLUX TUBES DURING ECLIPSES. IN PARTICULAR WE WILL MODEL PLASMA FLOW ALONG FIELD LINES SUBJECT TO PREVAILING GEOPHYSICAL WIND SYSTEMS IN BOTH HEMISPHERES AND STUDY THE EFFECTS OF GEOMAGNETIC LATITUDE AND LOCAL TIME ON ECLIPSE-RELATED PLASMA MOTIONS AND ELECTRODYNAMICS. 2. USE SAMI TO IDENTIFY REGIONS OF INSTABILITY AND/OR RADIO FREQUENCY SCINTILLATION EFFECTS WITHIN THE ECLIPSED REGION. THESE SCIENCE GOALS WILL DIRECTLY IMPACT AND INFORM THE DATA ANALYSIS EFFORTS FROM OUR ONGOING NSF/CEDAR EXPERIMENTAL ECLIPSE PROJECT. IN ADDITION WE WILL USE THE MODEL RESULTS WITH OUR GROUND-BASED DATA TO FORM AND TEST HYPOTHESES ABOUT LATITUDINAL AND LOCAL TIME EFFECTS. DATA SOURCES: THE EMPIRICAL DATA USED IN THIS STUDY INCLUDES DATA FROM THE CORS GPS-TEC NETWORK THE SUPERDARN RADARS IN KANSAS AND OREGON AND FROM FOUR HF TRANSCEIVERS/PORTABLE IONOSONDES TO BE FIELDED BY VIRGINIA TECH STUDENTS ALONG THE ECLIPSE LINE IN AUGUST 2017. THE FIELD WORK IS FUNDED UNDER OUR NSF-CEDAR GRANT; WE PROPOSE TO AUGMENT AND ENHANCE THE SCIENTIFIC RETURN OF THIS EXPERIMENT USING SAMI TO HELP INTERPRET THE EMPIRICAL RESULTS AND TO STUDY HOW ECLIPSE EFFECTS MAY VARY AS A FUNCTION OF LOCAL TIME AND GEOMAGNETIC LATITUDE. OUR CO-INVESTIGATORS ARE DRS. DOUGLAS DROB AND JOSEPH HUBA FROM NRL. THEY WILL WORK WITH A VIRGINIA TECH DOCTORAL STUDENT TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE ON USING THE DATA AND MODELS FOR THE PROPOSED STUDY. RELEVANCE: OUR RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ARE CENTERED AROUND UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF SOLAR ECLIPSES ON THE F-REGION OF THE IONOSPHERE AND MORE GENERALLY ON PLASMA DYNAMICS SPAWNED BY ECLIPSES. THE PROGRAM WE PROPOSE IS THEREFORE RELEVANT TO NASA'S STATED OBJECTIVE OF "UNDERSTANDING THE SUN AND ITS INTERACTIONS WITH THE EARTH INCLUDING SPACE WEATHER".