Table of Contents ====================================================================== 1. Call for Contributions to Dayside FACs and Energy Deposition (Dayside FED) at 2011 CEDAR-GEM Joint Workshop 2. Announcement of Ion Outflow Focus Group Sessions at 2011 CEDAR-GEM Joint Workshop (Session Dates: June 27 and June 29, 2011) 3. CEDAR-GEM Modeling Challenge Announcement: Model Outputs Due June 10; Tentative Agenda; Call for Ideas/Viewpoint Presentations ====================================================================== *************************** ** THE GEM MESSENGER ** *************************** Volume 21, Number 8 June 1, 2011 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Call for Contributions to Dayside FACs and Energy Deposition (Dayside FED) at 2011 CEDAR-GEM Joint Workshop ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Delores Knipp , Stefan Eriksson , Geoff Crowley , Herb Carson We would like to invite contributions to the Dayside FAC and Energy Deposition (FED) focus group at the upcoming GEM-CEDAR workshop in Santa Fe on June 27-July 1, 2011. This will be the second year in which special sessions on this topic have been held. The effort focuses on explaining the relation between enhanced dayside Poynting flux and field-aligned currents, sources of field-aligned currents in the solar wind and magnetosphere and their impacts in the ionosphere- thermosphere system. The Focus Group goals and other information are at: http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/FG:_Dayside_FACs_and_Energy_Deposition The FED focus group will hold two sessions. Both sessions have been tentatively scheduled on Tuesday Jun 28 (10-12 and 1:30-3:30). The sessions will cover data, theory, and modeling aspects of the following topics: * Dayside Poynting Flux, Joule Heating and Their Relation to Field Aligned Currents * Particle Energy Deposition on the Dayside * Dissipation of Magnetospheric Energy in the Dayside Thermosphere * Thermospheric Density Enhancements and Traveling Atmo/Ionospheric Disturbances * Solar Wind Drivers for Extreme Dayside Poynting Flux Events The sessions will be held in a joint workshop with CEDAR. We anticipate a full slate of presentations and want to encourage a presentation style in which each speaker will be allotted time for a 3-4 slides, in order to ensure enough time for discussion. At least one of the slides should deal with unresolved issues. Speakers are encouraged to end their presentation with outstanding questions that can be addressed jointly. If you have not already done so, please send the title(s) and session(s) of your contribution(s) to us at your earliest convenience at the email addresses listed below. Also note that some of the Dayside FED events have been added to the GEM-CEDAR challenge events and will get additional attention in the Challenge sessions (see meeting calendar for details). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Announcement of Ion Outflow Focus Group Sessions at 2011 CEDAR-GEM Joint Workshop (Session Dates: June 27 and June 29, 2011) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Dan Welling The new GEM focus group on The Ionospheric Source of Magnetospheric Plasma-Measuring, Modeling and Merging Into the GEM GGCM will hold four joint GEM/CEDAR sessions at the upcoming meeting in Santa Fe. The conveners, Rick Chappell, Bob Schunk and Dan Welling would like to invite participation from the GEM/CEDAR community for any of the following four sessions. The sessions will begin with a summary overview talk and will be followed by contributed workshop-style talks with discussion. Each session will last two hours. The topics and times of the sessions are listed below. Please contact the session chairman for each of the four sessions to be added to the agenda for the session. June 27, 2011; 1:30-3:30pm Measurements of Ion Outflow in the Ionosphere and Magnetosphere. The Earth's ionosphere has been shown to be a significant contributor of plasma to different particle populations of the magnetosphere. Through a variety of energization processes, the low energy ionospheric particles are transported from low altitudes upward into the magnetosphere where they can become more energized and can help create fundamentally important regions such as the plasma sheet and ring current. This workshop will review and discuss observations of outflow in the ionosphere and magnetosphere as a stimulus for refining existing outflow models. (Session Chairman: Rick Chappell rick.chappell at vanderbilt.edu) June 27, 2011; 4:00-6:00pm Modeling Ionospheric Outflow There is a continuous ion outflow from the Earth at high latitudes. The outflow consists of light thermal ions (H+ , He+ and O+) and energized ions (NO+, O2+, N2+, O+, N+, He+ and H+). The ion energization in the polar wind is associated with photoelectrons, hot magnetosphere electrons and ions, wave-particle interactions in the cusp and nocturnal oval at various altitudes, electromagnetic wave turbulence above the polar cap, and centrifugal acceleration. In addition, the ion outflow occurs in conjunction with magnetospheric convection, which causes the high-latitude plasma to drift into and out of the dayside ionosphere, cusp, polar cap, nocturnal auroral oval, and subauroral night-side ionosphere. Because of the complicated dynamics, various ion outflow models have been developed, including hydrodynamic (fluid), hydromagnetic, semi-kinetic, kinetic, generalized transport, and macroscopic particle-in-cell models. This workshop will identify the ionospheric outflow models that currently exist, establish the strengths and limitations of existing models, and determine the important outflow processes that need to be included in outflow models. (Session Chairman: Bob Schunk schunk at cc.usu.edu) June 29, 2011; 10:00-12:00 noon Geospace Generalized Circulation Models (GGCMs), invaluable tools for studying the Earth's magnetosphere, have historically neglected the ionospheric source of magnetospheric plasma. Recently, an increased recognition of the importance of this source has spurred the magnetospheric modeling community towards finding new, innovative ways to include it in the large-scale models. This workshop will examine existing merging techniques between outflow and magnetosphere models and review recent discoveries concerning the impact ionospheric outflow has on the global magnetospheric results. (Session Chairman: Dan Welling dwelling at lanl.gov) June 29, 2011; 1:30-3:30pm The Ionospheric Source of Magnetospheric Plasma: Measuring, Modeling, and Merging into the GEM GGCM focus group (or simply Outflow MMM) is a newly developed focus group aimed toward combining research of ionospheric outflow with Geospace General Circulation Models (GGCMs). The focus group has four major goals: refine existing outflow models through data-model comparisons, merge these models into the GGCMs and examine the impact on the magnetosphere, evaluate the coupled codes through data-model comparisons, and examine feedback from the magnetosphere to the ionospheric outflow. This session will summarize the Outflow MMM sessions that have taken place throughout the GEM/CEDAR meeting and work with the GEM and CEDAR communities to plan for the future of the 5-year focus group. (Session Chairmen: Rick Chappell rick.chappell at vanderbilt.edu Bob Schunk schunk at cc.usu.edu Dan Welling dwelling at lanl.gov) We look forward to your participation in these joint sessions. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. CEDAR-GEM Modeling Challenge Announcement: Model Outputs Due June 10; Tentative Agenda; Call for Ideas/Viewpoint Presentations ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Masha Kuznetsova Conveners: Masha Kuznetsova, Ja Soon Shim, Barbara Emery, Aaron Ridley, Delores Knipp, Naomi Maruyama, Tim Fuller-Rowell, Tim Guild, Jan Sojka, Geoff Crowley Modelers, data providers and users of space weather models are invited to participate in the CEDAR-GEM Modeling Challenge Workshop (Tuesday, June 28 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm, and Thursday, June 30 10 am - 3:30 pm) during the 2011 Joint CEDAR-GEM Workshop in Santa Fe. Details of the Challenge and instructions on how to prepare and submit model output time series can be found at CCMC, GEM and CEDAR Web sites: http://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/challenges/GEM-CEDAR/ http://cedarweb.hao.ucar.edu/wiki/index.php/2011_Workshop:Modeling_Challenge http://www-ssc.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/FG:_Metrics_and_Validation The CEDAR-GEM Challenge is built upon GEM GGCM and CEDAR ETI Challenges. During the Workshop, GEM and CEDAR communities will share the experiences and lessons learned from the first rounds of the Challenges, address topics of common interest and analyze the effects of geospace model coupling on metrics results. Participate in the Challenge by submitting your model results by June 10th, 2011. Both CEDAR and GEM communities have recognized that due to the maturity and increasing complexity of state-of-the-art space weather models, there is a great need for a systematic and quantitative evaluation of different modeling approaches. During the last two years both GEM and CEDAR communities addressed this need by organizing and implementing comprehensive, community-wide efforts to test model predictions against observations. In the summer of 2008 the GEM GGCM Metrics and Validation Focus Group initiated a series of metrics studies (aka GGCM Modeling Challenge) focusing on the inner magnetospheric dynamics and ground magnetic field perturbations. A year later the CEDAR community initiated the IT modeling challenge called CEDAR Electrodynamics Thermosphere Ionosphere (ETI) Challenge. The goal of the two Challenges is to evaluate the current state of the space physics modeling capability, to facilitate interaction between research and operation communities in developing metrics for space weather models, to address the differences between various modeling approaches, to track model improvements over time, to facilitate collaboration among modelers, data providers and research communities, and provide feedback for further model improvement. The Community Coordinating Modeling Center (CCMC) is supporting both Challenges and maintaining a web site with interactive access to model output archive and observational data used for metrics studies. In anticipation of the joint GEM-CEDAR Workshop five time intervals were included in lists of events addressed by both GEM and CEDAR Modeling Challenges: * December 14, 2006 12:00 UT - December 16, 00:00 UT * August 31, 2001 00:00 UT - September 1, 00:00 UT * August 31, 2005 10:00 UT - September 1, 12:00 UT * May 15, 2005 00:00 UT - May 15, 2005, 20:00 UT * July 9, 2005 00:00 UT - July 12, 2005, 00:00 UT Through collaboration between CEDAR and GEM Communities, by analyzing simulation results for ionosphere/thermosphere and magnetosphere models for the same set of events, we can analyze the effects of the geospace environment on the ionosphere. Many of the magnetospheric models are coupled to ionosphere-thermosphere models, so that the metrics can be conducted for both coupled and uncoupled simulations on both models. Modelers are invited to submit simulation results for the 5 events listed above before June 10th 2011 through the interactive submission interface http://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/challenges/GEM-CEDAR/. Model output file formats for each physical parameter and measurement availability table with satellite trajectories and ground stations locations can be found at http://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/challenges/GEM-CEDAR/fileformat.php, http://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/challenges/GEM-CEDAR/measurements.php, http://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/challenges/GEM-CEDAR/measurements-mag Submissions of coupled magnetosphere-ionosphere models are especially encouraged. To study the effect of different drivers, ionosphere/thermosphere modelers are requested to perform a series of simulations for each event with different models for the ionosphere potential pattern: 1) Weimer 2005 using 15-min averages of the IMF input parameters lagged -5 to -20 min provided by the NCAR and the CCMC; 2) AMIE provided by ASTRA (Geoff Crowley); 3) Global magnetosphere models provided by the CCMC. Please contact Barbara Emery or Masha Kuznetsova if you need assistance to get ionospheric potentials from AMIE and/or global magnetosphere models. List of physical parameters to be used for metrics studies: * Ionosphere/Thermosphere models or coupled model components: - Vertical and horizontal drifts at Jicamarca (VperpN and VperpE) - Neutral density at CHAMP orbit (Nden) - Electron density at CHAMP orbit (Eden) - NmF2 from LEO satellites (CHAMP and COSMIC) and ISRs - HmF2 from LEO satellites (CHAMP and COSMIC) and ISRs - Temperature Tn and neutral winds obtained by Fabry-Perot Spectrometer at 250 km (Arrival Heights, Antarctica; Resolute Bay, Canada) - Ne, Te, Ti at 300 km (Millstone Hill, Sondrestrom, EISCAT, Svalbard ISRs). - Ion vertical velocity at Sondrestrom ISR * Geospace models or coupled model components: - Magnetic field at geosynchronous orbit - Ground magnetic perturbations - Dst index - Auroral oval position (high latitude boundary) - Auroral oval position (low latitude boundary) * Parameters along DMSP tracks: - Poynting flux (Joule heating) into ionosphere along DMSP tracks - Plasma Velocity (Vx - along track, Vy cross track, Vz - vertical) * Additional time series in support of simulation results analysis: - Cross polar cap potential (northern and southern hemisphere) - Joule heating (or Poynting flux) integrated over each hemisphere in GW. Tentative agenda, suggested topics for discussions, and call for ideas/viewpoint presentations and participation in discussions: 1. Review of the first round of GEM and CEDAR Challenges results. Simulations results, observational data and reports on metrics studies for the first round of Challenges are available at the CCMC website. Comments and discussions are welcomed. Results of the first round of Challenges will be used as a benchmark for further studies. - Introduction (M. Kuznetsova) - Overview of the CETI Challenge results (J-S. Shim) - GEM Dst Challange results (L. Rastaetter, D. Welling) - Discussion 2. Effects of IT/geospace models coupling on metrics results. - Comparison of different approaches to introducing geomagnetic activity effects into ionosphere models (A. Ridley, N. Maruyama) - Poynting flux into the ionosphere (D. Knipp, L. Rastaetter) - Role of ion outflows from the ionosphere to the magnetosphere. - Discussion 3. Challenges of the model-data comparison and how to address them - How to define the equatorward boundary of the auroral oval from simulations (Y. Zheng) - What metrics to apply and how to calculate skill score for global (e.g., 2D time dependent) observational data. TEC metrics studies planning (B. Emery, L. Goncharenko, A. Coster) - Methods of data preparation. - Uncertainty analysis of model outputs (R. Schunk). - Metrics selection for geospace model evaluation. Lessons learned. Threshold-based metrics (A. Pulkkinen) - Discussion 4. Climatology projects for the thermosphere, ionosphere, ring current, radiation belts, and the plasma sheet (B. Emery, T. Guild) - scheduled for Tuesday June 28, 130-330 PM 5. General discussion on GEM-CEDAR Modeling Challenges. Planning of future activities Please contact conveners if you would like to present your viewpoint (no more than 3 slides) on topics listed above, and/or would like to suggest additional topics for discussion. +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | 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. | | | | GEM Messenger is also posted online via newsfeed at | | http://heliophysics.blogspot.com and | | http://www.facebook.com/heliophysics | | | | Back issues are available at ftp://igpp.ucla.edu/scratch/gem/ | | | | URL of GEM Home Page: http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki | | Workshop Information: http://www.cpe.vt.edu/gem/index.html | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+