near-Earth Space Environment Research Articles

Validation for solar wind prediction at Earth: Comparison of coronal and heliospheric models installed at the CCMC

Multiple coronal and heliospheric models have been recently upgraded at the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC), including the Wang-Sheeley-Arge (WSA)-Enlil model, MHD-Around-a-Sphere (MAS)-Enlil model, Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF), and heliospheric tomography using interplanetary scintillation data. To investigate the effects of photospheric magnetograms from different sources, different coronal models, and different model versions on the model performance, we run these models in 10 combinations. Choosing seven Carrington rotations in 2007 as the time window, we compare the modeling results with the Operating Mission as Nodes on the Internet data for near-Earth space environment during the late declining phase of solar cycle 23. Visual comparison is proved to be a necessary addition to the quantitative assessment of the models' capabilities in reproducing the time series and statistics of solar wind parameters. The MAS-Enlil model captures the time patterns of solar wind parameters better, while the WSA-Enlil model matches with the time series of normalized solar wind parameters better. Models generally overestimate slow wind temperature and underestimate fast wind temperature and magnetic field. Using improved algorithms, we have identified magnetic field sector boundaries (SBs) and slow-to-fast stream interaction regions (SIRs) as focused structures. The success rate of capturing them and the time offset vary largely with models. For this quiet period, the new version of MAS-Enlil model works best for SBs, while heliospheric tomography works best for SIRs. The new version of SWMF with more physics added needs more development. General strengths and weaknesses for each model are diagnosed to provide an unbiased reference to model developers and users.

Book Review: Satellite Anomalies: Benefits of a Centralized Anomaly Database and Methods for Securely Sharing Information Among Satellite Operators

Book Review: Satellite Anomalies: Benefits of a Centralized Anomaly Database and Methods for Securely Sharing Information Among Satellite Operators

Computational Earth Science: Big Data Transformed Into Insight

More than ever in the history of science, researchers have at their fingertips an unprecedented wealth of data from continuously orbiting satellites, weather monitoring instruments, ecological observatories, seismic stations, moored buoys, floats, and even model simulations and forecasts. With just an internet connection, scientists and engineers can access atmospheric and oceanic gridded data and time series observations, seismographs from around the world, minute‐by‐minute conditions of the near‐Earth space environment, and other data streams that provide information on events across local, regional, and global scales. These data sets have become essential for monitoring and understanding the associated impacts of geological and environmental phenomena on society.

Advances in Low Energy Neutral Atom Imaging

In the near-Earth space environment, charge exchange continually occurs between the magnetospheric ions and very cold (∼ eV) neutral atoms in the geocorona. This process creates both energetic (> tens of keV) and low energy (< tens of keV) neutral atoms (ENAs and LENAs, respectively) that radiate from the magnetosphere. Over the past several years, imaging techniques have been developed for observing these neutrals in space. Such techniques promise to open a new window onto the magnetosphere, providing synoptic measurements and a global view of the magnetospheric plasma and energetic particle environments for the first time. In this paper we describe recent advances in two of the leading techniques developed for LENA imaging: thin foil transmission-based imagers and UV-blocking grating-based imagers. In particular, we will discuss the development and testing of a flight-quality prototype foil-based imager and present an advanced design for a grating-based imager that has just been selected for NASA's IMAGE spacecraft.

The US‐UK Space Weather Workshop

The US‐UK Space Weather Workshop

Lower Hybrid Turbulence Associated With Creation of Dusty Plasmas in the Near-Earth Space Environment

Plasma turbulence associated with the creation of an artificial dust layer in the Earth's ionosphere is investigated. Two scenarios are considered for plasma irregularity generation as dust is injected at an oblique angle across the magnetic field. The first is a shear-driven plasma instability due to inhomogeneities in the boundary layer between the injected charged dust layer and the background plasma. This begins to appear at very early times relative to the release of the dust into the plasma, which is on the order of or less than the dust charging time period. The second mechanism is free streaming of the dust relative to the background plasma, which produces irregularities at times much longer than the dust charging period and also longer than the dust plasma period. Although both mechanisms are shown to produce turbulence in the lower hybrid frequency range, the resulting irregularities have important differences in their physical characteristics. A comparison between the processes is made to determine the consequences for upcoming observations. Both processes are shown to have the possibility to generate turbulence after the release of dust for the regimes of upcoming space experiments over a range of timescales.

Modeling the evolution of chorus waves into plasmaspheric hiss

[1] Plasmaspheric hiss (PH) is a band-limited, incoherent whistler mode emission found predominantly in the plasmasphere or high-density plasma regions in the near-Earth space environment. Since its discovery in the late 1960s, PH has been recognized as playing an important role in shaping the structure and dynamics of the Earth's electron radiation belts and creating the slot region that separates the inner and outer belts. However, the origin of PH has been a topic of intense debate for over four decades. Here we present a model for the origin of PH that involves the evolution of chorus waves into the PH spectrum. We perform extensive ray tracing using the HOTRAY code and calculate Landau damping using newly developed suprathermal flux maps from THEMIS observations, that are L and magnetic local time dependent, for both inside and outside the plasmasphere. Our results show remarkable consistency with the observed statistical characteristics of hiss, including the day/night asymmetry in wave power, frequency spectrum, geomagnetic control of PH, quasi-parallel equatorial wave normal angles, and confinement within the plasmasphere. Our model also reproduces ancillary features such as exohiss and extremely low frequency (ELF) hiss and might be related to a previously reported phenomenon called lower hybrid resonance duct trapping in the ionosphere. A detailed analysis of ray morphologies shows a separation into four distinct groups, which correspond to (1) rays that are trapped at the plasmapause, (2) PH rays, (3) ELF hiss rays, and (4) rays that represent the bulk of the chorus ray power.

A comparative verification of forecasts from two operational solar wind models

[1] The solar wind (SW) and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) have a significant influence on the near-Earth space environment. In this study we evaluate and compare forecasts from two models that predict SW and IMF conditions: the Hakamada-Akasofu-Fry (HAF) version 2, operational at the Air Force Weather Agency, and Wang-Sheeley-Arge (WSA) version 1.6, executed routinely at the Space Weather Prediction Center. SW speed (Vsw) and IMF polarity (Bpol) forecasts at L1 were compared with Wind and Advanced Composition Explorer satellite observations. Verification statistics were computed by study year and forecast day. Results revealed that both models' mean Vsw are slower than observed. The HAF slow bias increases with forecast duration. WSA had lower Vsw forecast-observation difference (F-O) absolute means and standard deviations than HAF. HAF and WSA Vsw forecast standard deviations were less than observed. Vsw F-O mean square skill rarely exceeds that of recurrence forecasts. Bpol is correctly predicted 65%–85% of the time in both models. Recurrence beats the models in Bpol skill in nearly every year forecast day category. Verification by “event” (flare events ≤5 days before forecast start) and “nonevent” (no flares) forecasts showed that most HAF Vsw bias growth, F-O standard deviation decrease, and forecast standard deviation decrease were due to the event forecasts. Analysis of single time step Vsw increases of ≥20% in the nonevent forecasts indicated that both models predicted too many occurrences and missed many observed incidences. Neither model had skill above a random guess in predicting Vsw increase arrival time at L1.

Space Weather: Physics, Effects and Predictability

The time varying conditions in the near-Earth space environment that may affect space-borne or ground-based technological systems and may endanger human health or life are referred to as space weather. Space weather effects arise from the dynamic and highly variable conditions in the geospace environment starting from explosive events on the Sun (solar flares), Coronal Mass Ejections near the Sun in the interplanetary medium, and various energetic effects in the magnetosphere–ionosphere–atmosphere system. As the utilization of space has become part of our everyday lives, and as our lives have become increasingly dependent on technological systems vulnerable to the space weather influences, the understanding and prediction of hazards posed by these active solar events have grown in importance. In this paper, we review the processes of the Sun–Earth interactions, the dynamic conditions within the magnetosphere, and the predictability of space weather effects on radio waves, satellites and ground-based technological systems today.

ESA Soon to Unveil Space Weather Services

ESA Soon to Unveil Space Weather Services

Numerical considerations in simulating the global magnetosphere

Abstract. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) models of the global magnetosphere are very good research tools for investigating the topology and dynamics of the near-Earth space environment. While these models have obvious limitations in regions that are not well described by the MHD equations, they can typically be used (or are used) to investigate the majority of magnetosphere. Often, a secondary consideration is overlooked by researchers when utilizing global models – the effects of solving the MHD equations on a grid, instead of analytically. Any discretization unavoidably introduces numerical artifacts that affect the solution to various degrees. This paper investigates some of the consequences of the numerical schemes and grids that are used to solve the MHD equations in the global magnetosphere. Specifically, the University of Michigan's MHD code is used to investigate the role of grid resolution, numerical schemes, limiters, inner magnetospheric density boundary conditions, and the artificial lowering of the speed of light on the strength of the ionospheric cross polar cap potential and the build up of the ring current in the inner magnetosphere. It is concluded that even with a very good solver and the highest affordable grid resolution, the inner magnetosphere is not grid converged. Artificially reducing the speed of light reduces the numerical diffusion that helps to achieve better agreement with data. It is further concluded that many numerical effects work nonlinearly to complicate the interpretation of the physics within the magnetosphere, and so simulation results should be scrutinized very carefully before a physical interpretation of the results is made. Our conclusions are not limited to the Michigan MHD code, but apply to all MHD models due to the limitations of computational resources.

Irregularities Associated With Creation of Dusty Plasmas in the Near-Earth Space Environment

Plasma irregularities associated with the creation of an artificial dust layer in the Earth's ionosphere are investigated with a 2-D plasma simulation model. The scenario considered in this investigation is the production of electron irregularities due to growth of a plasma instability driven by inhomogeneities in the boundary between the background plasma and the expanding charged dust layer. The mechanism is shown to effectively generate irregularities for early times after a localized release of dust for the parameter regimes of upcoming space experiments.

Role of Earth's plasmasphere in coupling of upper atmosphere

The near-Earth space environment is a complex, ever changing system of magnetized plasmas whose behaviour has a profound impact upon our technology dependent society. The exploration of the cold, relatively dense, inner region of upper atmosphere (the plasmasphere) and its unexpectedly sharp outer boundary (the plasma pause) has proceeded through a combination of in-situ observations and ground based whistler observations. Studies have shown that plasmasphere is highly variable both spatially and temporally responding to changes in geomagnetic indices, ring current, penetration and shielding electric fields and subauroral electric fields. Consequently the plasmasphere exhibits erosion, emptying and refilling during active times. Infact, it is the electric field that plays one of the most important roles in coupling of upper atmosphere. The atmospheric dynamo is the main generator of the large-scale electric field in the upper atmosphere. It arises because of a special situation which electrons and ions move with different velocities across the magnetic field because of different collisions between electrons and neutral particles and ions with neutral particles. This process leads to charge separation and consequently to an electric field. In the present paper, storm/ quiet period VLF whistler data recorded at lower latitudes/mid latitudes are analyzed and attempt has been made to look at plasmasphere response on coupling of ionosphere and magnetosphere.

Mechanistical studies on the electron-induced degradation of polymers: polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, and polystyrene

Mechanisms of the electron-induced degradation of three polymers utilized in aerospace applications (polyethylene (PE), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and polystyrene (PS)) were examined over a temperature range of 10 K to 300 K at ultra high vacuum conditions (∼10(-11) Torr). These processes simulate the interaction of secondary electrons generated in the track of galactic cosmic ray particles in the near-Earth space environment with polymer material. The chemical alterations at the macromolecular level were monitored on-line and in situ by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. These data yielded important information on the temperature dependent kinetics on the formation of, for instance, trans-vinylene groups (-CH=CH-) in PE, benzene (C(6)H(6)) production in PS, fluorinated trans-vinylene (-CF=CF-) and terminal vinyl (-CF=CF(2)) groups in PTFE together with molecular hydrogen release in PE and PS. Additional data on the radiation-induced development of unsaturated, conjugated bonds were collected via UV-vis spectroscopy. Temperature dependent G-values for trans-vinylene formation (G(-CH=CH-) ≈ 25-2.5 × 10(-4) units (100 eV)(-1) from 10-300 K) and molecular hydrogen evolution (G(H(2)) ≈ 8-80 × 10(-5) molecules (100 eV)(-1) from 10-300 K) for irradiated PE were calculated to quantify the degree of polymer degradation following electron irradiation. These values are typically two to three orders of magnitude less than G-values previously published for the irradiation of polymers with energetic particles of higher mass.

Mechanistical studies on the electron-induced degradation of polymethylmethacrylate and Kapton

Mechanisms for the electron-induced degradation of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and Kapton polyimide (PMDA-ODA), both of which are commonly used in aerospace applications, were examined over a temperature range of 10 K to 300 K under ultra high vacuum (∼10(-11) Torr). The experiments were designed to simulate the interaction between the polymer materials and secondary electrons produced by interaction with galactic cosmic ray particles in the near-Earth space environment. Chemical alterations of the samples were monitored on line and in situ by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry during irradiation with 5 keV electrons and also prior and after the irradiation exposure via UV-vis. The irradiation-induced degradation of PMMA resulted in the formation and unimolecular decomposition of methyl carboxylate radicals (CH(3)OCO) forming carbon monoxide (k = 4.60 × 10(-3) s(-1)) and carbon dioxide (k = 1.29 × 10(-3) s(-1)). Temperature dependent gas-phase abundances for carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and molecular hydrogen were also obtained for the PMMA and Kapton samples. The lower gas yields detected for irradiated Kapton were typically one or two orders of magnitude less than PMMA suggesting a higher degradation resistance to energetic electrons. In addition, UV-vis spectroscopy revealed the propagation of conjugated bonds induced by the irradiation of PMMA and indicated a decrease in the optical band gap by an increase in absorbance above 500 nm in irradiated Kapton.

An Observation Linking the Origin of Plasmaspheric Hiss to Discrete Chorus Emissions

A long-standing problem in the field of space physics has been the origin of plasmaspheric hiss, a naturally occurring electromagnetic wave in the high-density plasmasphere (roughly within 20,000 kilometers of Earth) that is known to remove the high-energy Van Allen Belt electrons that pose a threat to satellites and astronauts. A recent theory tied the origin of plasmaspheric hiss to a seemingly different wave in the outer magnetosphere, but this theory was difficult to test because of a challenging set of observational requirements. Here we report on the experimental verification of the theory, made with a five-satellite NASA mission. This confirmation will allow modeling of plasmaspheric hiss and its effects on the high-energy radiation environment.

Analyzing the variation of embedding dimension of solar and geomagnetic activity indices during geomagnetic storm time

Abstract Cyclic solar activity as one of the natural chaotic phenomena has significant effects on Earth, climate, and satellites. Rapid changes in the near-Earth space environment can affect the performance and reliability of both spacecraft and ground-based systems. This can imply major problems due to communication and satellite operational anomalies. Therefore, it is meaningful to analyze solar activity and geomagnetic indices to elicit the behavior of sun as the origin of most of these chaotic phenomena. One of the most important tools for analyzing the chaotic trends is the “Embedding Dimension” (ED). In this paper, the variation of ED for solar activity indices especially during storm time for two well-known storms is considered. The first storm is the super-storm on 13 March 1989, which shuts down the power supply system in Québec, Canada and the second one is the storm caused by Coronal Mass Ejection on 11 January 1997 which causes the failure of Telstar 401 satellite. The method of this paper is based on the fact that the reconstructed dynamics of an attractor should be a smooth map, i.e. with no self intersection in the reconstructed attractor. It is shown that the Embedding Dimension (and other chaotic characteristics) of some solar and geomagnetic activity indices during these storms varies rapidly.

Dynamic Tomographic Imaging of the Solar Corona

Three-dimensional (3-D) maps of the electron density and temperature in the solar atmosphere can be tomographically reconstructed from two-dimensional images that are measured by a variety of ground-based and space-based instruments. The electron density and temperature of the solar corona are fundamental parameters for understanding the physical mechanisms that contribute to space weather, or physical phenomena that can, in extreme cases, have adverse effects on Earth and the near-Earth space environment. New signal processing methods are required to take full advantage of the rich and complex suite of observations that are available from the current generation of Sun-observing spacecraft. In particular, this paper provides signal models and corresponding optimal state estimation methods for reconstructing the dynamic 3-D electron density and temperature structures in the solar corona with focus on the many challenges associated with solar tomography.

The science of space weather

The basic physics underpinning space weather is reviewed, beginning with a brief overview of the main causes of variability in the near-Earth space environment. Although many plasma phenomena contribute to space weather, one of the most important is magnetic reconnection, and recent cutting edge research in this field is reviewed. We then place this research in context by discussing a number of specific types of space weather in more detail. As society inexorably increases its dependence on space, the necessity of predicting and mitigating space weather will become ever more acute. This requires a deep understanding of the complexities inherent in the plasmas that fill space and has prompted the development of a new generation of scientific space missions at the international level.

December 2006 solar extreme events and their influence on the near-Earth space environment: “Universitetskiy-Tatiana” satellite observations

The Russian microsatellite “Universitetskiy-Tatiana” was launched on Jan. 20, 2005 and was both a scientific and educational mission. Its two main aims were declared as: (1) monitoring of the energetic particles dynamics in the near-Earth space environment after solar events and during quiet times, (2) educational activities based on experimental data obtained from the spacecraft. In this paper observations acquired during Dec. 5–16, 2006, known as “Solar Extreme Events 2006”, were analyzed. The “Universitetskiy-Tatiana” microsatellite orbit permits one to measure both solar energetic particle dynamics, variations of the boundary of solar particle penetration, as well as relativistic and sub-relativistic electrons of the Earth’s outer radiation belt during and after magnetic storms. Both relativistic electrons of the Earth’s outer radiation and solar energetic particles are an important source of radiation damage in near-Earth space. Therefore, the presented experimental results demonstrate the successful application of a small educational spacecraft both for scientific and educational programs.