Table of Contents ====================================================================== 1. Focus Group Workshop Report: The Ionospheric Source of Magnetospheric Plasma - Measurement, Modeling, and Merging Into the GEM GGCM GEM Meeting, June 2014 2. AGU Fall Meeting Session: "Substorm Effects on Radiation Belt Dynamics" ====================================================================== *************************** ** THE GEM MESSENGER ** *************************** Volume 24, Number 24 August 4, 2014 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Focus Group Workshop Report: The Ionospheric Source of Magnetospheric Plasma - Measurement, Modeling, and Merging Into the GEM GGCM GEM Meeting, June 2014 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rick Chappell, Robert Schunk, and Dan Welling The initial years of focus group presentations, discussion and planning have brought us to the point of merging models of the ionospheric outflow with models of the magnetosphere and bringing these merged models together with ionospheric and magnetospheric measurements for a first selected storm period. Results from a variety of model and measurement studies were presented at the Portsmouth GEM meeting and a planning discussion was held regarding our next set of activities. Ionospheric outflow models include the Generalized Polar Wind (GPW) from Utah State, the Polar Wind Outflow Model (PWOM) from Michigan and the Ionosphere Polar Wind Model (IPWM) from NCAR. The magnetosphere models used to date are the BATSRUS from Michigan, the LFM from NCAR and the LSK from UCLA. There are also ion trajectory tracing models from GSFC. Merged models for the ideal storm example have been run for GPW/BATS, PWOM/BATS and IPWM/LFM and initial comparisons of the different model results have begun. For comparisons between models and between models and measurements, a storm which took place on Sept 27-Oct 4, 2002 was chosen last year. A merged model run using initial GPW results combined with BATS has been carried out. These results are available for comparison with the spacecraft Cluster, Polar, LANL and FAST. Storm measurements from these missions were shown for a variety of instruments and initial comparisons with the merged model have begun. In addition to the GPW/BATS run, a GPW/LFM run is planned this year with results scheduled for the Mini-GEM meeting at AGU in December. Further development of the IPWM/LFM merged model will take place at NCAR with results planned for the GEM summer meeting in 2015. Results from the GPW runs can be obtained from USU by contacting Bob Schunk at schunk@cc.usu.edu. Results from the BATSRUS merged models and copies of the presentations from the 2014 GEM meeting can be found at: http://aoss-research.engin.umich.edu/projects/outflowmmm/. NCAR merged modeling results can be obtained by contacting Mike Wiltberger at wiltbermj@ucar.edu. Our challenge now is to continue the model development and comparison and to add the spacecraft orbit tracks through the models so that the model and measurements can be directly compared throughout the storm period. Cluster and LANL orbits have already been added to BATSRUS and the Polar and FAST orbits will be added. All of these spacecraft orbits need to be added to the merged LFM models for comparison. In addition, BATSRUS needs to be run in a multi-fluid version to enhance the comparison effectiveness. The GPW outflow model run for the complete first selected storm needs to be completed and the spacecraft orbit tracks should be added to it. All of this is in work and the schedule below will identify the projected completion times. The focus group needs to select a second storm period to study. Clearly, we need to select a period in which there is good satellite coverage as in the first storm, both in the tail of the magnetosphere at high altitude and in the ionosphere at low altitude. It was suggested that we should consider selecting a period near solar minimum winter in order to contrast with the first storm which occurred nearer solar maximum summer. Although both Polar and Cluster were not operating together during a solar minimum period, one possibility for a storm to study with Cluster, FAST and other spacecraft is the period around August 20, 2005. This is not wintertime, but it is near solar minimum and should have Cluster data in the magnetotail. Other suggested storm periods that have been identified are: April 6/7, 2000, October 24, 2002, and August 18, 2003. We are asking the experimentalists in the focus group to take a look at their measurement coverage during these four time periods and send their order of preference for the second storm to rick.chappell@vanderbilt.edu by August 15, 2014 so that we can make the selection of the second storm period to be studied. Note that in addition to the regular Mini-GEM focus group meeting at the AGU in December, 2014, there will be a special session on Ionospheric Ion Outflow as a Source of Magnetospheric Plasma: Observations vs. Modeling chaired by Abdallah Barakat. Please consider contributing papers to that session. Abstract deadline for contributed papers is August 6, 2014. Schedule of Upcoming Activities for the Focus Group: - Completion of the GPW results for 4 days of the first storm period— Early September, 2014 - Selection of the second real storm period—Experimenter’s input— August 15, 2014; Selection—End of August, 2014 - Add spacecraft orbits to merged models—August 15, 2014 - Make layered plots to compare model results & measurements along orbit—November, 2014 - Completion of the GPW results for the second real storm period— December, 2014 (AGU) - Completion of merged GPW/BATS and GPW/LFM for first storm—December, 2014 (AGU) - Completion of merged GPW/BATS and GPW/LFM for second storm—June, 2015 (GEM) - Completion of merged IPWM/LFM for first storm—June, 2015 (GEM) - Comparison of Model Results with each other and with measurements— June, 2015 (GEM) We appreciate the participation of all in the focus group who have contributed to the group’s activities in modeling the ionosphere- magnetosphere system and comparing the model results with measurements. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. AGU Fall Meeting Session: "Substorm Effects on Radiation Belt Dynamics" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mike Henderson Dear colleagues, We would like to bring to your attention that Mike Henderson, Weichao Tu, Scot Elkington, and Xinlin Li are organizing a session at the upcoming 2014 AGU Fall Meeting. The session is entitled “Substorm Effects on Radiation Belt Dynamics” with detailed descriptions below. The abstract deadline is Wednesday, 6 August. We would strongly encourage you to submit an abstract to the session and looking forward to seeing you in San Francisco! Substorm Effects on Radiation Belt Dynamics Section ID#: 2389 Section/Focus Group: SPA-Magnetospheric Physics Session Description: Substorms are one of the most ubiquitous large-scale dynamical processes that occur in the magnetosphere. They last for 1-2 hours or more (including growth, expansion and recovery phases) and can occur several times per day – particularly during the disturbed intervals associated with radiation belt energization and decay. Substorms: are a major source of seed-particle populations that become energized during radiation belt enhancements; are a source of particle anisotropy that can lead to growth of various plasma wave modes involved in radiation belt dynamics (energization and losses); and they involve rapid, large-scale reconfigurations of the magnetic and electric fields that likely lead to violations of the adiabatic invariants. We invite presentations that focus on how magnetospheric substorms affect the dynamics of the radiation belt. The topic is especially timely because of the unprecedented wealth of data that now available (Van-Allen-Probes, THEMIS, CLUSTER, GPS, LEO, GEO, CSSWE, Firebird, BARREL, etc.) Conveners: 1. Michael G Henderson (primary) LANL, mghenderson@lanl.gov 2. Weichao Tu LANL, wtu@lanl.gov 3. Scot Elkington University of Colorado, scot.elkington@lasp.colorado.edu 4. Xinlin Li University of Colorado, Xinlin.Li@lasp.colorado.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 | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+