Quantifying Solar Wind-Magnetosphere -Ionosphere Response to Extreme Driving Conditions
Team PI
Natalia Buzulukova
Who Will Do What:
- NASA group will run global models with different setups to study the response of the global system to large/extreme storms; in addition CIMI ring current standalone runs will be done to test various mechanisms for Carrington event fast recovery;
- NASA group will run global models with different setup to study the response of electron population with energies 1-100 keV
- NOAA group will do data analysis for GEO s/c to see the response of electrons with 1-100 keV to various driving conditions
- University of Michigan group will help with the model setup for the extreme events and help to interpret the model results
All groups will collaborate on each task, if this seems to be appropriate and justified.
What Are Our Expectations:
Our groups has the experience both in data analysis and model development. We will work on how to set up properly global simulations for the extreme driving conditions, from solar wind data to boundary conditions. We will have different simulation results for different SW drivers. We will provide the team with the results during the whole project.
What Are Our Objectives:
We will quantify the solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere response for extreme driving conditions using the 3D
multifluid MHD code (BATS-R-US) coupled to the inner magnetosphere module (CIMI), the module of ionospheric
electrodynamics, and the outflow module. Historical data available for extreme geomagnetic storms will be compared
with the simulations when available.
What Are Our Goals:
To study response of the coupled magnetosphere-ionosphere system to Carrington-type events, paying attention to the role of ring current population, ionospheric effects, and solar wind drivers. We will study physical mechanisms that could explain unusually fast recovery rate for the Carrington event.
These processes include elevated O+ outflow and faster rate of charge-exchange losses, ionospheric effects, magnetopause losses, wave-particle interactions. In relation to the applications of space weather, we will also examine the response of electrons in the energy range 5–50 keV in the inner magnetosphere and along GEO orbit. The response of the electron fluxes will be studied as a function of the strength of the storms, in order to find optimal conditions for formation of intense fluxes.
What Are Our Milestones:
Year 1: Start running the global models for the large storms/extreme events; setup the global model to be run for the extreme events; run the standalone model for the ring current to study different mechanisms for fast recovery of Carrington-like event; start working with partial plasma moments of GEO s/c;
Year 2: Continue working on large storms/extreme storms with both global models and standalone model; start working with multifluid global model coupled with the ring current model to study the effects of O+ outflow;
Year 3: Continue working extreme/large storms; start working on the modeling of electron environment for the surface charging applications; continue to do data analysis of GEO for partial plasma moments;
Year 4: Perform comparison for partial plasma moment between the data and the models, define optimal conditions for intense elextron fluxes as well as the solar wind drivers.
COIs
Mei-Ching Fok
Alex Glocer
Robert Redmon
Gábor Tóth
Natchimuthuk Gopalswamy
- NASA GSFC (Buzulukova, Fok, Glocer, Gopalswamy): Global modeling of extreme/large storms; role of ionospheric outflow; ring current modeling; modeling of electrons 1-100 keV in the inner magnetosphere, data analysis
- NOAA (Redmon): Data analysis of GEO s/c to study the effects of surface charging
- University of Michigan (Tóth): Modeling support and code development
