Table of Contents ============================================================================ 1. GEM Mini-workshop Session "Substorm Expansion Onset: The First 10 Minutes" 2. GEM Mini-workshop Session "Bow Shock Phenomena and their Magnetospheric Impacts" 3. GEM Mini-workshop Session "Plasmasphere-Magnetosphere Interactions (PMI)" 4. GEM Mini-workshop Session "Physical processes in the cusps: Plasma transport and energization" 5. SPA Town Hall Meeting at Fall AGU: Solicitation of Questions ============================================================================ *************************** ** THE GEM MESSENGER ** *************************** Volume 18, Number 31 November 23, 2008 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. GEM Mini-workshop Session "Substorm Expansion Onset: The First 10 Minutes" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Vassilis Angelopoulos , Shin Ohtani and Kazuo Shiokawa (conveners) The GEM Focus Group on "Substorm Expansion Onset: The First 10 Minutes" will have a session at this coming GEM mini-workshop: Date: December 14 (Sunday) Time: 2:30 - 4:30 PM Place: San Francisco Marriott Hotel (Room: Nob Hill B) FG Description: http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/FG12._Substorm_Expansion_Onset:_The_First_10_Minutes In the 2008 Summer Workshop we discussed the substorm initiation process focusing on three issues, that is, (1) Timing of tail substorm signatures, (2) Pre-onset/breakup auroral arcs, and (3) Onset mapping. At this mini- workshop we will discuss the current status of studies on these issues and will identify issues we will discuss at the 2009 Summer Workshop. We invite people who are interested in any of those issues to participate in discussion, and we welcome suggestions for the next summer workshop for enhanced science returns. Those who are interested in making a brief presentation with one or two viewgraphs are suggested to contact the conveners for advanced scheduling. Please also contact the conveners for additional information ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. GEM Mini-workshop Session "Bow Shock Phenomena and their Magnetospheric Impacts" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: N. Omidi and D. Sibeck, Conveners In preparation for the 2009 Summer GEM workshop, a mini-GEM session on the bow shock and its magnetospheric impacts will be held on Sunday Dec. 14 at the San Francisco Marriott Hotel (Nob Hill rooms). The main objective of this session is to bring together people involved/interested in observations, modeling, and theory of the bow shock and related processes in the foreshock and the magnetosheath. Through this gathering, we wish to make plans for one or more sessions during the 2009 workshop. Of particular interest are processes that could impact the magnetosphere through significant modifications of the pristine solar wind, such as ULF wave activity in the foreshock and magnetosheath, hot flow anomalies (HFAs) and the interaction of solar wind discontinuities with the bow shock. Those who are interested in these topics and wish to show a couple of relevant slides should contact the conveners omidi@solanasci.com, David.G.Sibeck@nasa.gov. Currently the session is planned to be held from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in room Nob Hill B. For updated information please see http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/Main_Page. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. GEM Mini-workshop Session "Plasmasphere-Magnetosphere Interactions (PMI)" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jerry Goldstein, Joe Borovsky, and Maria Spasojevic A mini-GEM session for the Plasmasphere-Magnetosphere Interactions (PMI) focus group will be held at the San Francisco Marriott Hotel (tentatively in Nob Hill A) on Sunday December 14 from 12:00 - 2:00 PM. This session will highlight recent research in how magnetospheric processes are regulated by plasmaspheric dynamics (and vice versa). Our objectives will be to discuss the current status of PMI research, and identify new research investigations and collaborations. Main topics of discussion include: - Wave-particle interactions - Plume dynamics and recirculation - Plasmasphere-ionosphere-thermosphere interactions - Plume fine structure, turbulence, and instabilities. A full description of science questions of the PMI focus group--and much more information--may be found at the GEM PMI Wiki page: http://tinyurl.com/PMIFGwiki (the full URL is http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/FG11._Plasmasphere-Magnetosphere_Interactions) Based on sessions at the 2008 GEM workshop, we expect lively, active discussions rather than formal (AGU-style) presentations. We invite attendance by all those interested in PMI science topics. If you'd like to present something at the PMI session, please send an e-mail with tentative title (or topic) to: JGoldstein [at] SWRI.edu. For additional information, contact: Jerry Goldstein, jgoldstein [at] swri.edu Joe Borovsky, jborovsky [at] lanl.gov Maria Spasojevic, mariaspasojevic [at] stanford.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. GEM Mini-workshop Session "Physical processes in the cusps: Plasma transport and energization" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: K.J. Trattner, N. Omidi and D. Sibeck A mini Gem session on physical processes in the cusp will be held at the San Francisco Marriott Hotel (Nob Hill rooms) on Sunday December 14 from 12 to 2 pm. The main objective of this session is to utilize observations, modeling, and theory of the cusp and its role in particle acceleration and plasma transport to assess the current status of the field and forge collaborative efforts towards addressing outstanding issues during the 2009 summer GEM workshop in Snowmass, Colorado. Topics to be discussed include 1. Plasma transport into the cusp. 2. Energization of ions in diamagnetic cavities. 3. Origin of waves observed in the cusp and their role in particle scattering and acceleration. 4. Interaction of FTE’s with the cusp. 5. The source region of energetic ions and electrons observed in the cusp. 6. Ionospheric signatures of such processes such as Poleward Moving Auroral Forms Those interested in these topics are invited to attend and contribute to this session by showing a few slides and/or participation in the discussions. Please send us your suggestions at your earliest convenience to allow adequate planning for the session. For additional information please contact the conveners trattner@mail.spasci.com, omidi@solanasci.com or david.g.sibeck@nasa.gov. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. SPA Town Hall Meeting at Fall AGU: Solicitation of Questions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jan J. Sojka, SPA President Elect Following SPA tradition, on Tuesday, December 16th, the Town Hall Meeting (Agency Night) will follow the Van Allen Lecture at about 6 pm. I am soliciting your questions for our agency representatives. This year, we will have NSF and NASA representatives, and in addition, an Air Force representative. This year's inclusion of an Air Force representative is to provide SPA updates on the successful C/NOFS launch, the C/NOFS guest investigator proposal opportunity, and the Air Force search for SPA scientists for the AFRL being relocated at Albuquerque. This latter topic is of relevance to a broad SPA community of our junior researchers and graduate students. Please send your questions to Jan Sojka, who will be chairing the SPA Town Hall Meeting (Agency Night). The appropriate e-mail address is: Jan.Sojka@usu.edu +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |To subscribe GEM Messengers, send an e-mail to | | with the following command in the body of your e-mail message: | | subscribe gem | |To remove yourself from the mailing list, the command is: | | unsubscribe gem | | | |To broadcast a message to the GEM community, please contact Peter Chi at | | | |Please use plain text as the format of your submission. | | | |URL of GEM Home Page: http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/GemWiki | |Workshop Information: http://www.cpe.vt.edu/gem/index.html | +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+