Abstract
Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD)-based global space weather models have mostly been developed and maintained at academic institutions. While the “free spirit” approach of academia enables the rapid emergence and testing of new ideas and methods, the lack of long-term stability and support makes this arrangement very challenging. This paper describes a successful example of a university-based group, the Center of Space Environment Modeling (CSEM) at the University of Michigan, that developed and maintained the Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF) and its core element, the BATS-R-US extended MHD code. It took a quarter of a century to develop this capability and reach its present level of maturity that makes it suitable for research use by the space physics community through the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) as well as operational use by the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).
Highlights
Over the past few decades there has been an increasing awareness of the potentially devastating impact that the dynamic space environment can have on human assets
In this paper we describe the evolution and current capabilities of the Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF) and its unique capabilities to address the myriad of processes involved in studying and predicting space weather
In the main text we focus on the the broad range of space weather simulations made possible by the advanced capabilities of BATS-R-US (Block Adaptive-Tree Solar-wind Roe-type Upwind Scheme) and SWMF
Summary
Over the past few decades there has been an increasing awareness of the potentially devastating impact that the dynamic space environment can have on human assets. Simulating and predicting space weather with first-principles models requires space physics expertise for the various sub-domains. There are only a couple of physics-based space weather models that are capable of spanning the entire region from the low solar corona to the edge of the heliosphere. In the main text we focus on the the broad range of space weather simulations made possible by the advanced capabilities of BATS-R-US (Block Adaptive-Tree Solar-wind Roe-type Upwind Scheme) and SWMF. Appendix E describes our most advanced simulation capability that embeds fully kinetic domains inside extended MHD models
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