*************************** ** THE GEM MESSENGER ** *************************** Volume 23, Number 24 August 23, 2013 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. 2013 Workshop Report from The Storm-Time Inner Magnetosphere Ionosphere Convection (SIMIC) Focus Group ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jo Baker, Stan Sazykin, Mike Ruohoniemi, Peter Chi, Mark Engebretson The 2013 GEM Summer Workshop saw the initiation of a new Focus Group examining “Storm-Time Inner Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Convection” (SIMIC). The overarching goal of the SIMIC Focus Group is to bring together experimentalists, theorists, and modelers to synthesize a new understanding of coupled magnetosphere-ionosphere dynamics during geomagnetic storms. Two breakout sessions were held late in the week to maximize the likelihood of attracting participants from the CEDAR community. Both sessions focused on reviewing the current state-of- the-art in: (1) self-consistent physics-based modeling of the coupled inner magnetosphere-ionosphere system, and (2) instrumentation suitable for examining storm-time dynamics over large spatial scales and validating simulation results. Twenty speakers gave talks that collectively touched on the following three broad topic areas: 1. Capabilities to monitor storm-time magnetosphere-ionosphere dynamics provided by recent spacecraft missions, such as, Van Allen Probes [J. Baker, M. Gkioulidou, J. Zhang], Cluster [S. Ohtani], AMPERE [H. Korth] and C/NOFs [G. Le]; as well as ground-based instrumentation, like mid-latitude SuperDARN radars [J. Baker, S. Zou], ground magnetometers [J. Rigler, P. Chi], ISRs [G. Lu, S. Zou] and GPS-TEC measurements [S. Zou]. Specific features of interest included plasmaspheric density depletions, the sub-Auroral Polarization Stream (SAPS), ring current dynamics, and plumes of Storm Enhanced Density (SED). 2. Recent improvements in physics-based models and how they can be used to analyze important physical processes and features during storms, such as, subauroral ionospheric convection [S. Sazykin]; time evolution of magnetospheric current systems [M. Liemohn]; inner magnetosphere shielding and inflation [J. Raeder]; the role of inductive electric fields [V. Jordanova, S. Ohtani]; and electric fields versus the neutral wind dynamo during SAPS [N. Maruyama] and penetration electric field events [G. Lu]. Specific models discussed included RCM, RAM, HEIDI, CIMI, CTIP, BATS-R-Us, OpenGGCM, and TIME- GCM. 3. Controlled numerical experiments and/or model-data comparisons to better understand important processes, such as, the accuracy of an updated electron precipitation loss model [C. Lemon]; identifying which factors control the ring current injection rate [J. Yang]; using self-consistent versus empirical electric fields [M.-C. Fok, V. Jordanova, M. Liemohn]; different specification of outer boundary conditions [M. Liemohn]; how best to reproduce “trunk” structures in dynamic ion spectra [J. Zhang]; or examining how inner magnetosphere ion composition affects storm dynamics [R. Ilie]. In addition, a short presentation drew attention to synergies with the new SPeCIMEN (Specification and Prediction of the Coupled Inner Magnetospheric Environment) program which was recently approved by the Scientific Committee on Solar Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP) for a five-year term (2014-2018) [J. Bortnik]. Open discussions during the two breakout sessions centered on articulating an appropriate scope and emphasis for the Focus Group as it moves forward. There was general agreement that a challenge of some sort should be formulated as soon as possible in order to focus the research efforts of modelers and data providers on a few recent event periods of common interest. This idea will be further elaborated upon at the 2013 AGU Mini-GEM. +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | The GEM Messenger is the electronic newsletter for the | | NSF GEM Program and Workshops. | | | | Editor: Peter Chi, GEM Communications Coordinator | | E-mail: | | | | To subscribe GEM Messengers, send an e-mail message to: | | | | with the following command in the body of your e-mail: | | subscribe gem | | To remove your e-mail address from the list, the command is: | | unsubscribe gem | | | | 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 | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+