28 March 2025 | 10:30 - 12:00 (MDT)
Open Session - HYBRID
Room: UMC Third Floor - 382
Organisers: Bea Gallardo-Lacourt (NASA/CUA, USA); Doug Rowland (NASA, USA)
Session Description:
Space weather encompasses the conditions on the Sun, the solar wind, and Earth's magnetosphere and atmosphere that influence the performance and reliability of space-based and terrestrial technologies. Variations in the near-Earth space environment can disrupt satellite operations, communications, navigation systems, and electric power distribution grids, leading to significant socio-economic challenges. To thoroughly understand and accurately predict these variations, it is essential to study the Sun, the solar wind, and the interactions within Earth's atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetosphere. Many of the space weather variations of greatest interest to our society begin in the polar regions, and have their greatest impacts there, before they drive further variations at low and mid latitudes.
Studying this integrated system requires a coordinated interdisciplinary approach, combining all available modalities – space-based and ground-based observations as well as numerical modeling and advanced data analysis techniques. Upcoming NASA satellite missions, such as SMILE, RADICALS, Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC), and Dynamical Neutral Atmosphere Ionosphere Coupling (DYNAMIC), play a critical role in advancing our understanding and predictive capabilities of space weather phenomena. These missions represent a significant leap forward in our space-based observational capabilities in the ionosphere-thermosphere-mesosphere system. Now is the time to plan scientific studies, campaigns, and observational, modeling, and analysis capabilities to be ready to leverage these significant new databases, expected to come online in time for the next International Polar Year.
In this session we invite contributed talks that focus on space weather, its drivers, and the responses of Earth’s atmosphere.
Instructions for Speakers: Oral presentations in this 90-minute session should be at most 12-minutes in length, with an additional 5 minutes for questions (unless more detailed instructions are provided by session conveners). See more detailed presenter instructions here.
Oral Presentations:
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unfold_moreInternational and Interdisciplinary Polar Observing Networks to Enable Comprehensive Geospace, Atmosphere, and Cryosphere Monitoring — Michael Hartinger
Michael Hartinger 1; Zhonghua Xu 2; Hyomin Kim 3
1 Space Science Institute, UCLA; 2 Virginia Tech; 3 NJITFormat: Oral in-person
Abstract:
Geospace system dynamics can affect our technological infrastructure, for example by inducing damaging electrical currents in the power grid, heating the upper atmosphere and altering satellite orbits, and affecting GPS signals. Polar regions are crucial for understanding geospace system dynamics since much of the solar wind’s energy enters the Earth’s atmosphere in these regions, creating a range of effects from dazzling auroral displays to dynamic electrical currents to upper atmosphere heating and expansion. During recent years, many autonomous measurement systems have been deployed remotely at strategic Arctic and Antarctic locations to enable investigations of phenomena in both hemispheres through international and interdisciplinary collaborations. In this presentation, we provide an update on these efforts and the research investigations that they have enabled, highlighting novel capabilities to remote sense mesoscale (~100 km) 2D ionospheric structures in both hemispheres simultaneously. We further describe how current and future satellite measurements (e.g., GDC and SMILE) can be combined with existing ground-based observing networks operated by the geospace/space weather, atmosphere, and cryosphere communities to address outstanding questions across all disciplines. We finally describe a vision for expanding international and interdisciplinary collaborations in the years leading up to IPY5, maximizing polar observing capabilities across the geospace, atmosphere, cryosphere, and other disciplines and addressing a broad set of natural hazards.
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unfold_moreSWINCan: Transforming ionospheric monitoring capacity in the Arctic — Chris Watson
Chris Watson 1; Thayyil Jayachandran 1; Anton Kashcheyev 1; David Themens 1; Richard Langley 1; Anthony McCaffrey 1; Torsten Reuschel 1; Karim Meziane 1; Abdelhaq Hamza 1; Alex Koloskov 1; Richard Chadwick 1; Philippe Trottier 1
1 University of New BrunswickFormat: Oral in-person
Abstract:
Space Weather Ionospheric Network Canada (SWINCan), formerly the Canadian High Arctic Ionospheric Network (CHAIN), has provided continuous, near-real-time monitoring of the Arctic ionosphere since 2007. Capitalizing on Canada’s geographic expanse and proximity to the northern magnetic pole, SWINCan’s expansive instrument network delivers high-latitude ionospheric data including essential space environment quantities for scientific and operational use. This data enables fundamental understanding of the ionosphere and its role in radio propagation and solar-terrestrial interactions, while also providing critical input for ionosphere nowcast/forecast models that support scientific research and operations of navigation, communication, and radar systems in the Arctic.
In response to growing demand for enhanced high-latitude observational capacity, the Radio and Space Physics Laboratory (RSPL) at the University of New Brunswick is in the process of substantially expanding and modernizing SWINCan. By 2026, this pan-Canadian network will consist of 128 global navigation satellite system (GNSS) ionospheric scintillation and total electron content monitors (GISTMs) and 20 modernized high-frequency (HF) ionospheric sounders, adding to the 28 GISTMs and 10 HF sounders that are currently deployed. SWINCan GISTMs record raw 50 Hz/100 Hz data enabling study of the multi-spatiotemporal-scale structuring of the ionosphere, including fundamental study of radio wave scintillation in a turbulent ionosphere. As part of SWINCan modernization, RSPL has also developed a state-of-the-art, versatile HF platform to replace SWINCan’s aging sounders. These new systems are specifically designed for harsh environments such as the Arctic, are fully and remotely configurable, and include ionosonde and spectral riometer mode operations.
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unfold_moreBeyond solar storms: theta auroras illuminate the path of solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere energy transfer during northward IMF conditions — Shannon Hill
Shannon Hill 1; Tuija Pulkkinen 2; Anita Kullen 3; Austin Brenner 4; Qusai Al Shidi 5; Matti Ala-Lahti 6; Agnit Mukhopadhyay 7; Allison Jaynes 8
1 University of Iowa; 2 University of Michigan; 3 KTH Royal Institute of Technology; 4 University of Michigan; 5 West Virginia University; 6 University of Michigan; 7 Center of Space Environment Modeling, University of Michigan; 8 University of IowaFormat: Oral in-person
Abstract:
Much of space weather emphasizes the impact of solar storms on the Earth’s magnetosphere and atmosphere; yet the theta aurora, a sun-aligned bar of auroral activity that stretches across the entire polar cap, directly represents the structured high energy plasma precipitation that can be present in the polar regions during non-storm times. Precipitation in the polar regions impacts ionospheric electron density and the dynamics of the neutral atmosphere. We use a combination of space-based global images and high-resolution numerical simulations to study the conditions under which the theta aurora can develop in the polar cap, a region that typically lacks auroral precipitation. We simulate two theta aurora events captured by IMAGE and Polar with the Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF) in the Geospace configuration. SWMF Geospace couples an MHD model of the global magnetosphere (BATS-R-US) to a kinetic model of the inner magnetosphere (RCM). We present the first coupled MHD-kinetic simulation results driven by real solar wind observations during theta aurora events.
Our results show that during northward IMF conditions, the magnetotail can be twisted into complicated topological configurations. Localized regions of cross-tail current reversals form in the far-tail and map to high-latitude field aligned currents in the ionosphere. During the interval of theta aurora formation, the simulation produces a nearly completely closed polar cap with reversed ionospheric convection. We discuss the solar wind interaction with a highly twisted, topologically closed magnetosphere and its implications for solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere energy transfer during theta aurora events, and relevant future mission observations.
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unfold_moreSpace Physics on Svalbard – A unique ground based observing platform for Space Weather — Lisa Baddeley
Lisa Baddeley 1; Dag Lorentzen 1; Fred Sigernes 2
1 University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), University of Oslo; 2 University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)Format: Oral virtual
Abstract:
The archipelago of Svalbard hosts a world class supersite of instrumentation focused not only on space weather, but also encompassing the entire Earth-Science system. In terms of space weather, the location of Svalbard, underneath the dayside cusp, polar cap and polar cap boundary region, combined with the polar night conditions from October – February, provides a unique opportunity to study these regions without solar EUV contamination. Just outside the main settlement of Longyearbyen, there exists both an ionospheric coherent (SuperDARN) and incoherent (EISCAT) scatter radar, a meteor radar as well as over 31 optical based instrumentation from 22 different institutions at the Kjell Henriksen Observatory (KHO). Both KHO and the SuperDARN radar are owned and operated by the research group at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS). There are also instrumentation located in Ny Ålesund (including a sounding rocket launch facility operated by Andoya Space) and at the polish research base in Hornsund. The ability to successfully combine ground and space based measurements is crucial in understanding both the solar drivers and resulting atmospheric effects of space weather.
In this talk I will provide an overview of the instrumentation as well as detail the challenges, from a ground based perspective, in regards to co-ordinating ground and space based measurements, instrument operations, data visibility and data availability.