Table of Contents ====================================================================== 1. Call for Applications for GEM Student Representative Application deadline: June 2, 2014 2. Tail Inner Magnetosphere Focus Group: Call for Presentations at the 2014 GEM Summer Workshop 3. Metrics & Validation Focus Group: Call for Presentations at the 2014 GEM Summer Workshop 4. Transient Phenomena at the Magnetopause and Bow Shock and Their Ground Signatures Focus Group: Call for Presentations at the 2014 GEM Summer Workshop ====================================================================== *************************** ** THE GEM MESSENGER ** *************************** Volume 24, Number 15 May 29, 2014 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Call for Applications for GEM Student Representative Application deadline: June 2, 2014 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Roxanne Katus GEM graduate students are invited to apply for the position of student representative for the 2014-2016 term. There are always two GEM student representatives with overlapping terms. Interested students should have previously attended at least one GEM summer workshop, be graduate students actively researching in a GEM field, and have at approximately two years left before finishing their degree. The GEM student representatives are responsible for organizing the student tutorial day at the GEM summer workshop, representing students at the GEM steering committee meetings (Friday afternoon of GEM), and coordinating/facilitating other professional and social activities for the GEM student community. To apply, please submit your name, student status (year/anticipated degree/institution/advisor) and one or two paragraphs describing your vision and qualifications for serving as the GEM student representative. This information will be distributed at the GEM 2014 student tutorial day on June 15, 2014. The new representative will be selected by vote during the GEM 2014 Summer Workshop. Please submit all applications to Roxanne Katus and Ian Cohen by June 2, 2014. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Tail Inner Magnetosphere Focus Group: Call for Presentations at the 2014 GEM Summer Workshop ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Frank Toffoletto The GEM focus group on Tail-Inner Magnetosphere Interactions will hold its breakout sessions on Tuesday June 17, 2014. We invite contributions to this session. More information on the focus group can be found at: http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/GEM_Focus_Groups In addition to general contributions, we would like to invite participation from both modelers and observers in addressing two specific questions related to the physics of BBFs/dipolarization fronts: 1) How is the formation of the substorm current wedge related to BBFs/dipolarization fronts? 2) What is the physics of the oscillations in the field and plasma seen ahead of the front? Details on these events can be found on the GEM wiki page. We also plan to have a joint session with the reconnection focus group on Monday afternoon. Please email Frank Toffoletto (toffo at rice dot edu) if you wish to make a presentation. We look forward to a productive session at GEM. Vassilis Angelopoulos, Pontus Brandt, and John Lyon, and Frank Toffoletto (Editor's Note: This announcement is also posted in the 2014 Summer Workshop wiki page at: http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/2014_Summer_Workshop) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Metrics & Validation Focus Group: Call for Presentations at the 2014 GEM Summer Workshop ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Lutz Rastaetter , Tim Guild, and Howard Singer Session 1: Model Uncertainty: Dealing with uncertain physical processes and boundary conditions. In this session we solicit contributions discussing how model uncertainties and uncertain boundary conditions affect model results and validation. Specifically solicited are strategies to accommodate uncertainty in modeled physical processes (e.g. uncertain radiation belt diffusion coefficients), uncertainty in boundary conditions (e.g. upstream solar wind), or the validation of models at their boundaries (such as ground-based magnetometers). We will introduce a challenge based on previously run magnetopause standoff simulations that compared model results to magnetopause crossings of geo-synchronous satellites. The few crossings observed during strong events revealed significant discrepancies between the major magnetospheric MHD models. We plan to revisit the challenge on the basis of selected events with steady and changing solar wind conditions and observations near the nose of the magnetosphere. The role of boundary conditions applied at the inner boundary (e.g., ionospheric conductance and convection, plasma density and temperature, magnetic field) can be tested. Some of the questions that can be addressed are: 1) Which model is better suited to predict magnetopause position near the nose of the magnetosphere under typical conditions/storm time conditions? 2 ) What model assumptions affect the model predictions significantly and lead to differences between models? 3) How does the magnetopause change during extreme events 4) How sensitive is model performance to changes of the boundary conditions? 5) Can we define common settings for the inner boundary location, and the plasma density or temperature applied at this boundary? We also anticipate presentations on topics such as the influence of the plasma sheet boundary conditions on ring current development and also welcome specifications of uncertainties derived from observations and lessons from data assimilation and ensemble modeling methods. Session 2: Validating Models under Extreme Geomagnetic Conditions. Extreme events in the geospace environment are among the most interesting scientifically as well as important for their space weather consequences. The goals for this session are: to show model results for extreme events in the magnetosphere, to share information about the range of conditions where models have been validated, to assess methods for validating model performance with limited observations (such as for early historical events), and to assess the reliability of a model outside the range in which it has been validated. These results will guide our understanding of the magnetosphere under extreme conditions, and provide insight into what physics needs to be incorporated into models so that they perform better during extreme events. Contributions to these and related issues are welcome. (Editor's Note: This announcement is also posted in the 2014 Summer Workshop wiki page at: http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/2014_Summer_Workshop) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Transient Phenomena at the Magnetopause and Bow Shock and Their Ground Signatures Focus Group: Call for Presentations at the 2014 GEM Summer Workshop ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Hui Zhang , Q.-G. Zong, Michael Ruohoniemi, and David Murr The "Transient Phenomena at the Magnetopause and Bow Shock and Their Ground Signatures" focus group will hold 3 sessions at the upcoming Workshop in Portsmouth, Virginia, June 15-20, 2014. Session 1: 01:30 pm - 03:00 pm on Wednesday (June 18) Foreshock Phenomena Session 2: 03:30 am - 05:00 pm on Wednesday (June 18) Magnetopause Phenomena Session 3: 10:30 pm - 12:15 pm on Thursday (June 19) Ground Signatures If you would like to present in this focus group sessions, please send a tentative title of your presentation to hzhang@gi.alaska.edu by June 6, Friday. The Focus Group description is available at http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/FG:_Transient_Phenomena_at_the_Magnetopause_and_Bow_Shock_and_Their_Ground_Signatures You can also find a table and a short description of some transient foreshock phenomena, together with a list of Hot Flow Anomaly and Foreshock Bubble event at this webpage. You are more than welcome to investigate these events and their ionospheric response. We hope to see you soon at GEM! Focus Group Coordinators: Hui Zhang, University of Alaska Fairbanks (hzhang@gi.alaska.edu) Q.-G. Zong, University of Massachusetts Lowell (qgzong@gmail.com) Michael Ruohoniemi, Virginia Polytechnic and State University (mikeruo@vt.edu) David Murr, Augsburg College (murrdl@augsburg.edu) +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | To broadcast announcements to the GEM community, please contact | | Peter Chi, GEM Communications Coordinator, at: | | | | | | Please submit your announcements in plain text or Word document. | | | | To subscribe the GEM Messenger, 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 | | | | GEM Messenger is also posted online via newsfeed at | | http://heliophysics.blogspot.com and | | http://www.facebook.com/heliophysics | | | | Back issues are available at: | | http://www-ssc.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/messenger/ | | | | URL of GEM Home Page: http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki | | Workshop Information: http://www.cpe.vt.edu/gem/index.html | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+