2013 Summer Workshop

June 16-21, 2013

Snowmass Conference Center, Snowmass, Colorado

(The Westin Snowmass Resort)

Web links to more Workshop information:

• GEM Workshop Website
• Workshop Schedule
• Poster Information
• Travel and Accommodations
• GEM Student Forum on Sunday, June 16, 2013

Below are session announcements and tentative agenda (if available) from active GEM Focus Groups. The symbol @ in all e-mail addresses below is replaced by " [at] ". More recent updates may be posted at Focus Group pages. (Last update of this page: 6/11/2013)

The Magnetosheath

Conveners: Steve Petrinec <steven.m.petrinec [at] lmco.com>, Katariina Nykyri <nykyrik [at] erau.edu>

Date/Room: Monday, 17 June (Salon C)

• Morning Session: 10:30 am - 12:15 pm
• Afternoon Session: 1:30 - 3:00 pm

Scheduled Speakers:

• Katariina Nykyri
• David Sibeck
• Brian Walsh
• Andrey Samsonov
• Nick Omidi
• Chih-Ping Wang
• Viacheslav Merkin
• Ted Fritz

Transient Phenomena at the Magnetopause and Bow Shock and Their Ground Signatures

Conveners: Hui Zhang <hzhang [at] gi.alaska.edu>, Q.-G. Zong <qgzong [at] gmail.com>, Michael Ruohoniemi <mikeruo [at] vt.edu>, David Murr <murrdl [at] augsburg.edu>

The Transient Phenomena at the Magnetopause and Bow Shock and Their Ground Signatures focus group will hold four sessions at the upcoming GEM Workshop in Snowmass, CO, June 16-21, 2013.

• Session 1: 03:30 pm - 05:00 pm on Monday (June 17) Foreshock Phenomena
• Session 2: 10:30 am - 12:15 pm on Tuesday (June 18) Ground Signatures
• Session 3: 01:30 pm - 03:00 pm on Tuesday (June 18) Magnetopause Phenomena (joint with Reconnection FG)
• Session 4: 03:30 pm - 05:00 pm on Tuesday (June 18) Planning Session

If you would like to present in this focus group sessions, please send a tentative title of your presentation to hzhang [at] gi.alaska.edu

The Focus Group description is available at http://gem.epss.ucla.edu/mediawikiwiki/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!

Tentative Schedule:

Session 1: 03:30 pm - 05:00 pm on Monday (June 17) Foreshock Phenomena

• Drew Turner-Foreshock bubbles and their effects on particle acceleration and the magnetosphere-ionosphere system
• Nick Omidi- Mach number and cone angle dependence of SHFA formation.
• Christina Chu-Statistical study of HFAs-THEMIS observations
• Gabor Facsko-Turbulence in HFA cavities
• Hui Zhang-Recent advances in HFA studies
• Nick Omidi- Hybrid simulation of enhanced ion precipitation caused by an interplanetary shock

Session 2: 10:30 am - 12:15 pm on Tuesday (June 18) Ground Signatures

• David Murr - Overview of ground mag signatures for event list on FG wiki
• Michael Hartinger -Magnetospheric ULF waves driven by the ion foreshock
• Harald Frey (presented by someone else) - Optical signatures
• Mark Engebretson - EMIC waves stimulated by dayside transients
• Hyomin Kim-Conjugate observations of traveling convection vortices and electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves associated with transient events at the magnetopause: Initial Results from the 40-Degree Magnetic Meridian Conjugate Magnetometer Network
• Gar Bering - "Further Studies of the Relationship between Pc3 Emissions and TCV's"
• Mark Engebretson -TCVs observed by MACCS array

Session 3: 01:30 pm - 03:00 pm on Tuesday (June 18) Magnetopause Phenomena (joint with Reconnection FG)

• Brian Walsh-Plasmaspheric drainage plumes and reconnection
• Sunhee Lee-Cold ion behavior during magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause
• Rick Wilder-Cluster Observations of Reconnection Exhausts at the High-Latitude Magnetopause Under Extreme Density Asymmetry Conditions
• Binzheng Zhang- Bifurcation of soft electron precipitation under IMF By driving conditions
• Karlheinz J Trattner -Tracing multiple X-lines at the magnetopause
• Yaireska M. Colladovega- Determining the motion of FTEs on the dayside magnetopause
• Takuma Nakamura-Vortex induced reconnection
• Xuanye Ma-On the Interaction of Kelvin-Helmholtz Modes and Magnetic Reconnection for Large Magnetic Shear
• Shiva Kavosi- OpenGGCM Simulation of Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability observed by THEMIS

Session 4: 03:30 pm - 05:00 pm on Tuesday (June 18) Planning Session

• Joe Borovsky-The Effect of Sudden Wind Shears on the Earth’s Magnetosphere
• Andrey Samsonov-THEMIS observations of sudden impulses in the magnetosphere

Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetosphere

Conveners: Paul Cassak, West Virginia University <Paul.Cassak [at] mail.wvu.edu>, Homa Karimabadi, University of California, San Diego, <homakar [at] gmail.com>, Andrei Runov, University of California, Los Angeles, <arunov [at] igpp.ucla.edu>

We would like to solicit contributions to the "Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetosphere" Focus Group sessions at the upcoming GEM meeting in Snowmass, Colorado on June 16 - 21, 2013. The Focus Group goals description and other information is available at

http://gem.epss.ucla.edu/mediawikiwiki/index.php/FG:_Magnetic_Reconnection_in_the_Magnetosphere.

Thus summer we plan four 1.5 hr-long sessions to discuss

1. Dayside reconnection and its relation to transient phenomena at the magnetopause and bow shock (joint with Dayside Transient FG);
2. Magnetotail reconnection and its role in substorms, pseudo breakups, PBIs and other substorm-related phenomena (joint with Substorm Onset FG);
3. General problems of magnetospheric reconnection. Nominally, the session activities will address Signatures of Kinetic Scale Reconnection Physics (a prelude to the launch of MMS), but contributions on any topic including onset, evolution, and consequences are welcomed.

We welcome contributions based upon data analysis, simulations, and theory.

The tentative agenda of the workshop is available at http://www.cpe.vt.edu/gem/2013GEM_agenda.pdf.

To follow the GEM philosophy and the informal workshop format, your presentations need to be short and concise (without AGU-style introductions and conclusions) in order to engender discussions. We strongly suggest preparing 5 slides or less and 5 min-long presentations focused strictly on the topic. We encourage presentations by graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.

Please submit a tentative topic of your presentation (to help us plan the session) and address your questions, if any, to

Paul Cassak, West Virginia University, Paul.Cassak [at] mail.wvu.edu

Expected Speakers (in alphabetical order)

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm on Tuesday (June 18), joint with Transient Phenomena at the Magnetopause and Bow Shock and Their Ground Signatures focus group

1. Yaireska Colladovega, determining motion of FTEs on the dayside magnetopause
2. Sunhee Lee, cold ion behavior during magnetic reconnection at the magnetopause
3. Xuanye Ma, interaction of Kelvin-helmholtz and reconnection for large magnetic shear
4. Takuma Nakamura, vortex induced reconnection
5. Karlheinz Trattner, Tracing multiple X-lines at the magnetopause
6. Brian Walsh, plasmaspheric drainage plumes
7. Rick Wilder, reconnection at high-latitude magnetopause with extreme density asymmetry
8. Binzheng Zhang, soft electron precipitation bifurcations during large By driving

10:30 am - 12:15 pm on Wednesday (June 19), joint with Substorm Expansion Onset focus group===== Expected speakers

1. Joachim Birn (w/M. Hesse), near tail reconnection: onset
2. Joachim Birn (w/M. Hesse), near tail reconnection: energy conversion
3. Stefan Kiehas, reconnection observations with THEMIS/ARTEMIS
4. Andrei Runov, Update on Cluster and THEMIS/ARTEMIS observations
5. Mike Shay, 3D localized reconnection
6. Mikhail Sitnov, magnetotail reconnection onset and dipolarization fronts
7. Mikhail Sitnov (w/S. Merkin), magnetotail reconnection onset: kinetic vs. MHD

1:30 pm - 3:00 pm and 3:30 - 5:00pm on Wednesday (June 19) Expected speakers

1. Joachim Birn, energetic particle fluxes & anisotropies at dipolarization fronts
2. Joe Borovsky, solar wind coupling
3. Paul Cassak, shear flow
4. Lars Daldorff, PIC/BATS-R-US coupling
5. John Dorelli, global Hall-MHD effects on magnetospheric convection
6. John Dorelli, sw/ms coupling
7. Jim Drake
8. Jan Egedal, role of pressure anisotropy
9. Stefan Eriksson, solar wind reconnection
10. Gabor Facsko, solar wind disturbances forcing magnetotail reconnection
11. Michael Hesse, asymmetric reconnection
12. Colin Komar, dayside separators
13. Yanhua Liu, counter streaming heavy ions in reconnection
14. Kittipat Malakit, asymmetric reconnection
15. Tai Phan, electron heating
16. Mike Shay, electron heating

The Ionospheric Source of Magnetospheric Plasma--Measuring, Modeling and Merging into the GEM GGCM

Conveners: Rick Chappell <rick.chappell [at] vanderbilt.edu>, Bob Schunk and Dan Welling

We would like to invite your participation in an area of research that is directed toward creating a unified model that incorporates the outflow of plasma from the ionosphere into the creation and dynamics of the important plasma regions of the magnetosphere.

This GEM focus group has as its goal to improve the understanding of the role of the ionospheric outflow source by (1) refining outflow modeling through comparison with measurements, (2) adjusting the outflow modeling to become a compatible input to magnetospheric Geospace Global Circulation Models (GGCM), (3) comparing magnetospheric modeling results with satellite measurements and (4) examining ways in which the dynamic magnetosphere can couple back to influence the original ionospheric outflow.

We have planned the following four sessions for the upcoming GEM Snowmass meeting and would like for you to suggest topics that you would like to present in the sessions.

Session 1—Observational and Modeling Mysteries—June 19, 10:30am: This session will be an opportunity for both modelers and experimentalists to present areas of unanswered questions in their work concerning outflow and its effects. The goal will be to solicit discussion from the GEM Ion Outflow-MMM community regarding approaches to solving the outstanding mysteries and to initiate new collaborative research in these areas.

Session 2—The Magnetosphere-Ionosphere System With and Without Outflow-June 19, 1:30pm: This session will compare and contrast the characteristics of periods of strong outflow with periods of weak outflow in both the observational and modeling results. A focal point of this session will be to work toward a self-consistent coupling in the merging of the ionosphere and magnetosphere models considering effects such as precipitation, currents and electric fields.

Session 3—General Contributions in Measurements, Modeling and Merging—June 19, 3:30pm: This session will cover a variety of topics related to measuring and modeling the ionospheric outflow and its effects on the magnetosphere as well as merging the ionospheric and magnetospheric models.

Session 4—Planning Session—June 20, 10:30am: This will be an open discussion on the status of the focus group accomplishments in order to identify areas of research that are needed and approaches that can be initiated to drive new modeling, measurements and GGCM results.

Please send your topics and suggestions to Rick Chappell at rick.chappell [at] vanderbilt.edu.

We look forward to seeing you at the GEM meeting in June.

Agenda:

(Presentations should be planned for 10 minutes with 5 minutes of discussion)

Session 4-1: Observational and Modeling Mysteries—June 19, 10:30am, Salon D

• Bob Schunk: Neutral Polar Wind Mysteries
• Rick Chappell: The Low Energy Invisible Plasma Mystery
• Bill Lotko: Issues, Challenges and Advances Required for Outflow and Magnetospheric Modeling
• Joe Borovsky: The Plasma Cloak:Where It Comes From, How Often It Occurs, and Its Impact On Dayside Reconnection.
• Dan Welling: Outflow Effects on CPCP
• Naritoshi Kitamura: The Effect of Photoelectrons on the Polar Wind

Session 4-2: The Magnetosphere-Ionosphere System With and Without Outflow—June 19, 1:30pm, Salon D

• Dan Welling: Outflow versus No Outflow: Difficulties of Excluding Outflow
• Schunk/Abdallah: Escape of Plasma and Neutral Gas from the Earth's Upper Atmosphere
• Lynn Kistler: Relationship Between Sawtooth Events and O+ in the Plasma Sheet
• Yanhua Liu: The Thickness of O+ Mediated Reconnecting Current Sheet
• Alex Glocer: Superthermal Electrons and MI Coupling in Modeling Ionospheric Outflow
• Roger Varney: The Nature of Heat Flows Into the Daylit Polar Cap Ionosphere

Session 4-3: General Contributions in Measurements, Modeling and Merging—June 19, 3:30pm, Salon D

• Dennis Gallagher: Dynamics Explorer-1 Ion Densities and Temperatures
• Richard Denton, Jonathan Krall, Joe Huba: SAMI3 Plasmasphere Simulations
• Eric Donovan: Mechanisms of Energetic Mass Ejection Xplorer (MEMEX) Mission
• Karimabadi Homayoun: What Can We Gain By Coupling the Ionospheric Models To 3D Global Hybrid Simulations?

Session 4-4: Focus Group Planning Session—June 20, 10:30am, Salon D

• Suggestions, mini-presentations and discussion are encouraged to guide future focus group activities.

Metrics and Validation

Conveners: Tim Guild <timothy.b.guild [at] aero.org>, Howard Singer <howard.singer [at] noaa.gov>, and Lutz Rastaetter <lutz.rastaetter [at] nasa.gov>

The GGCM Metrics and Validation Focus Group solicits short contributions to three planned sessions at the upcoming GEM meeting in Snowmass, Colorado, on Thursday and Friday, June 20-21. The session descriptions are below. If you have a topic to discuss, please send us a draft title so that we can begin to put together a program; however, in the spirit of GEM, participation and brief, last-minute informal presentations are always welcome.

Session 1: New Validation Results and Methods In this session we solicit short presentations focusing on all aspects of data-model comparisons. Welcomed themes could include geospace model validation using regional ground magnetometer indices, model responses to dynamic magnetopause boundaries, long-term "climatological" model validation, using multi-variate metrics to assess model performance, or any related contribution.

Session 2: How Validation Studies Guide Model Improvements: In this session, we solicit short presentations on specific examples of how discrepancies between models and observations have led to a better understanding of the physics that needs to be incorporated into models. Studies, or ideas, on studies involving model sensitivity to inputs and various model parameters are welcome. The session will include a discussion on better ways to design metrics and validation studies to uncover missing physics in models.

Session 3: Validation of MHD models Coupled with other modules such as the Ring Current and Polar Outflow In this session we will investigate recent advances in the development of coupled models of the magnetosphere, inner magnetosphere, the plasmasphere/polar wind, and the ionosphere/thermosphere. We solicit short presentations on methods to link models, validate the outputs and constrain coupled model systems using observations. Emphasis should be placed on new physical processes that are described by the coupled models and on effects that remain out of scope and that limit the effectiveness and stability of the coupling.

Thank you for your contributions.

Tentative Agenda:

(We welcome additional contributions.)

Session 1: New Validation Results and Methods Thursday, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM (Chair: Tim Guild)

In this session we solicit short presentations focusing on all aspects of data-model comparisons. Welcomed themes could include geospace model validation using regional ground magnetometer indices, model responses to dynamic magnetopause boundaries, long-term "climatological" model validation, using multi-variate metrics to assess model performance, or any related contribution.

• Frank Toffoletto: Initial result from LFM RCM for Oct 2012 Storm
• Lutz Rastaetter and Howard Singer: dB/dt study (MHD and empirical) results / discussion
• Alex Glocer: Calculation of K index values from model magnetic perturbations
• Victoir Veibell and Bob Weigel (presented by Tim Guild): Climatological analysis of 12 months of MHD simulated ground magnetometer measurements
• Gabor Facsko: GUMICS-4 verification and footprint determination using static and dynamic global MHD simulations of the ECLAT project
• Roxanne Katus and Michael Liemohn: Climatological Validation of the HEIDI Ring Current Model
• Haje Korth: Statistical maps of TIMED/GUVI auroral emissions as a new global MHD validation data source

These next two talks may move to the beginning of the next session (Thursday 3:30-5:00).

• Josh Rigler: Metrics derived from multi-variate statistical distributions
• Asher Pembroke: Interpolating into "Hard to reach places" of MHD volumes for more accurate DST

Session 2: How Validation Studies Guide Model Improvements Thursday, 03:30 PM – 5:00 PM (Chair: Howard Singer)

In this session, we solicit short presentations on specific examples of how discrepancies between models and observations have led to a better understanding of the physics that needs to be incorporated into models. Studies, or ideas, on studies involving model sensitivity to inputs and various model parameters are welcome. The session will include a discussion on better ways to design metrics and validation studies to uncover missing physics in models.

• Howard Singer: Session Intro and Comments on Ensemble Modeling
• Dan Welling : Multi-Model Validation with the Space Weather Modeling Framework
• Margaret Chen: The effect of uncertain boundary conditions on ring current model validation
• Andrey Samsonov: Large-scale flow vortices following a magnetospheric sudden impulse (Simulations were done with SWMF, OpenGGCM and LFM.)
• Slava Merkin: Lessons from MHD-AMPERE comparisons
• Lutz Rastaetter: Magnetopause Challenge of 2010 and steps from there: Eents for future MP challenge

Session 3: Validation of MHD models coupled with other modules such as the Ring Current and Polar Outflow Friday: 10:30 AM – 12:15 PM (Chair: Lutz Rastaetter)

In this session we will investigate recent advances in the development of coupled models of the magnetosphere, inner magnetosphere, the plasmasphere/polar wind, and the ionosphere/thermosphere. We solicit short presentations on methods to link models, validate the outputs and constrain coupled model systems using observations. Emphasis should be placed on new physical processes that are described by the coupled models and on effects that remain out of scope and that limit the effectiveness and stability of the coupling.

• Joachim Raeder (co-authors Gilson & Toffoletto), OpenGGCM - RCM validations
• Raluca Ilie: Coupling of SWMF magnetosphere and Heidi Ring Current
• Michael Wiltberger: Validation of MFLFM Outflow Simulations
• All: Discussion on future Metrics and Validation Activities to Support GEM goals

If you have topics for discussion, please consider communicating them to the conveners before the session.

The Scientific Magnetic Mapping and Techniques

Conveners: Elizabeth MacDonald <macdonald [at] lanl.gov>, Robyn Millan <robyn.millan [at] dartmouth.edu>, and Eric Donovan <edonovan [at] ucalgary.ca)

The GEM Magnetic Mapping Focus group (bit.ly/gem_mapping) is pleased to announce our sessions for Snowmass 2013:

1. Monday at 10:30 in Salon D
2. Monday at 1:30 in Salon D

We will focus the first two sessions on mapping challenges around a number of new exciting events in the RBSP era including:

• Nov 14 (lobe crossings)
• Jan 17, Jan 26, Feb 2 (BARREL and RBSP wave conjunctions)
• Mar 17 (geomagnetic storm)

Coordinated study from multiple observation types and vantage points is encouraged and those who wish to present on other dates of interest are also welcome. Invited and confirmed speakers include Toshi Nishimura, Lutz Rastaetter, Alexa Halford, Phil Erickson, and Mei-ching Fok.

Finally, Tuesday at 10:30 in Salon D we will continue our successful collaboration with the Substorm Expansion Onset focus group.

Those interested in volunteering for any of these exciting, challenging topics, please contact Liz MacDonald, Robyn Millan, and/or Eric Donovan at your earliest convenience. We look forward to seeing you in Snowmass and thank you in advance for your participation.

Plasmasphere-Magnetosphere Interaction

Conveners: Joe Borovsky <jborovsky [at] spacescience.org>, Jerry Goldstein, and Maria Spasojevic

The Plasmasphere-Magnetosphere Interaction focus group will have its final sessions at the 2013 GEM Summer Workshop in Snowmass June 16-21. Two sessions will be held on Tuesday Afternoon: one session in which plasmaspheric research findings from this last year will be reported, and one session that is a wrap-up/summary of progress made with the 5-year Focus Group. To make short contributions to either session, please contact Joe Borovsky (jborovsky [at] spacescience.org).

Modes of Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Energy Transfer Focus Group

Conveners: R. McPherron <rmcpherron [at] igpp.ucla.edu>, J. Kissinger <jenni.kissinger [at] nasa.gov>, L. Kepko <larry.kepko [at] nasa.gov>"

The Focus Group on Modes of Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Energy Transfer will hold two sessions at the 2013 workshop. These sessions are scheduled at 10:30 AM to 12:15 PM and 1:30 to 3:00 PM on Thursday June 20. The Focus Group has examined the solar wind and magnetospheric conditions leading to different types of geomagnetic activity. This will be the last meeting of this Focus Group as GEM moves to other topics. We will begin with a review of our past activities and suggestions for future work. We are soliciting presentations related to the following topics:

1. The occurrence of substorms as function of universal time, season, and solar cycle
2. The properties of steady magnetospheric convection (SMC) and its relation to solar wind and prior substorm activity
3. The occurrence and properties of sawtooth events
4. The occurrence statistics of poleward boundary intensifications (PBI) during substorm phases and SMC
5. A comparison of PBI and pseudo breakups

Please contact one of the organizers if you have material you wish to present. Plan for short informal presentations designed to stimulate discussion.

Substorm Expansion Onset: The First 10 Minutes

Conveners: Vassilis Angelopoulos <vassilis [at] ucla.edu>, Shin Ohtani <Shin.Ohtani [at] jhuapl.edu>, Kazuo Shiokawa <shiokawa [at] stelab.nagoya-u.ac.jp>, Andrei Runov <arunov [at] igpp.ucla.edu>

We would like to invite contributions to the Substorm Expansion Onset: The First 10 Minutes Focus Group at the upcoming GEM meeting in Snowmass on June 16-21, 2013. The Focus Group goals and other information are available at:

http://gem.epss.ucla.edu/mediawikiwiki/index.php/FG12._Substorm_Expansion_Onset:_The_First_10_Minutes

For this summer we plan four 1.5 hr-long sessions to discuss

• Relative timing between onset signatures in space and on the ground
• The role of magnetotail reconnection (distant and near-Earth) in substorms and substorm-related processes, such as pseudo-breakups, PBIs, streamers, and other substorm-related phenomena (joint with the RX Focus Group)
• Substorm-related processes in the tail-dipole transition region
• Substorm onset mapping (joint with the Magnetic Mapping and Techniques Focus Group).

Since it is the Substorm Expansion Onset Focus Group final year, we plan to allocate 10 minutes of each session for the final report discussion.

The workshop agenda is available at http://www.cpe.vt.edu/gem/schedule.html

Each speaker will be allotted time for 5 minutes (3 slides) presentation, in order to ensure enough time for discussion. Please submit tentative titles of your presentation and/or address your questions to the FG coordinators.

Storm-Time Inner Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Convection (SIMIC)

Conveners: Joseph Baker, Stan Sazykin, Mike Ruohoniemi, Peter Chi, Mark Engebretson

Dear Colleagues,

This year's GEM Summer Workshop marks the initiation of a new Focus Group to examine "Storm-Time Inner Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Convection (SIMIC)". The SIMIC Focus Group will bring together observations and modeling to examine the coupled dynamics of the inner magnetosphere and ionosphere during geomagnetic storms. Recent improvements in modeling and ground- and space-based instrumentation allow this topic to be examined with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution and coverage. Some examples of relevant parameters of interest include: plasma distributions, magnetic topology, convection electric fields, and current systems. More details about the SIMIC Focus Group can be found at:

http://gem.epss.ucla.edu/mediawikiwiki/index.php/FG:_Storm-Time_Inner_Magnetosphere-Ionosphere_Convection

We invite short presentations that highlight one or more of the following themes:

1. Improvements in self-consistent physics-based simulations of the coupled inner magnetosphere-ionosphere system during geomagnetic storms.
2. Instrumentation which can be used to examine storm-time magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling over large spatial scales and validate the simulations (e.g. magnetometers, radars, imaging, GPS receivers, etc.)
3. Any other discussion topics relevant to articulating an appropriate scope and emphasis for this Focus Group. (Since this is the first year, we are open to any comments or suggestions about how to move forward most effectively.)

The SIMIC Focus Group will hold two sessions on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. We have deliberately scheduled the sessions for late in the week to benefit those people who aim to attend both GEM and CEDAR.

If you would like to give a SIMIC presentation, please email Joseph Baker (jo.baker [at] vt.edu) and Stan Sazykin (sazykin [at] rice.edu) with a working title and short description of your talk.

Here's to a great SIMIC kick-off!

Radiation Belts and Wave (RBW) Modeling

Conveners: Yuri Shprits <yshprits [at] atmos.ucla.edu>, Scot Elkington, Jacob Bortnik, Craig Kletzing

The RBW focus group will have 6 sessions this year.

Sessions:

1. Wed, Jun 19, (10:30am-12:15pm) RBW 1 -- GEM particle transport challenge
2. Wed, Jun 19, (1:30pm-3:00pm) RBW 2 -- Dynamical modeling of the radiation belts (Preparing radiation belt models for Van Allen Probes data)
3. Wed, Jun 19, (3:30pm-5:00pm) RBW 3 -- Wave-particle interactions (Particle scattering and transport)
4. Thu, Jun 20, (10:30am-12:15pm) RBW 4 -- Wave excitation, propagation, and distribution (ULF)
5. Thu, Jun 20, (1:30pm-3:00pm) RBW 5 -- Wave excitation, propagation, and distribution (VLF/ELF)
6. Thu, Jun 20, (3:30pm-5:00pm) RBW 6 -- GEM wave challenge, overflow

You can submit the title of your presentation online by following the link below to reserve a time slot during each individual session. We invite potential contributions and encourage to participants to limit presentations to approximately 5 min.

Please submit the title of your presentations by June 5th at

http://goo.gl/B7BY9

In particular, we would like to encourage modelers to participate in the GEM particle modeling challenge as well as the wave modeling challenge.

Data and rules for the GEM challenge are given on the ViRBO web site at http://virbo.org/RBW#2010_RBW_Challenge.

See you at GEM.

Tail-Inner Magnetosphere Interactions

Conveners: Frank Toffoletto, John Lyon, Pontus Brandt, and Vassilis Angelopoulos

The GEM focus group on Tail-Inner Magnetosphere Interactions will hold its breakout sessions on Monday - Tuesday, June 17-18, 2013. We invite presentations that specifically address one of the following topics:

• Origin and evolution of BBFs and related phenomena (bubbles, dipolarization fronts, etc.)
• The impact of BBFs et al on transport during different levels of activity (e.g., quiet times, SMCs, substorms, storm main phases).
• The impact of BBFs et al on the inner magnetosphere, including ring current and radiation belts; braking oscillations and micropulsations.
• Auroral streamers and other ionospheric signatures of BBFs et al.

More information on the focus group can be found at: http://gem.epss.ucla.edu/mediawikiwiki/index.php/GEM_Focus_Groups

We kindly ask presentations to be limited to 2-3 slides/5 minutes. If you would like to be put on the schedule, please contact Frank Toffoletto (toffo [at] rice.edu).

We look forward to seeing everyone at GEM and to your contributions.