Space Weather effects on Mars’ ionosphere: From our current knowledge to the way forward

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Sánchez-Cano
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Space Weather ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Neutral Atmosphere ◽  
Orbital Eccentricity ◽  
Large Space ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Martian Ionosphere ◽  
Solar Storms ◽  
Upstream Solar Wind

<p>Planetary Space Weather is an emerging topic of increasing interest. Forecast this planetary space weather, however, is currently very challenging mainly due to the lack of continuous solar wind observations for each planet. In the particular case of Mars, understanding the ionospheric behaviour following Space Weather activity is essential in order to assess the response of the Martian plasma environment to the dissipation of energy from solar storms. Moreover, it gives information on the effects on the current technology deployed on the red planet. Despite the recent considerable exploration, however, there is still no continuous upstream solar wind observations at Mars. This fact makes the analysis of the different Martian plasma datasets challenging, relying on solar wind models and upstream solar wind observations at 1 AU (e.g. at Earth’s L1 point, STEREO, etc.) when Mars and those satellites are in apparent opposition or perfectly aligned in the Parker spiral.</p><p>This lecture will focus on our current knowledge of the Martian ionosphere, which is the layer that links the neutral atmosphere with space, and acts as the main obstacle to the solar wind. In particular, I will focus on our recent advances in the understanding of the Martian ionospheric reaction to different Space Weather events during the solar cycle, both from the data analysis and ionospheric modelling perspectives. Some important aspects to consider are the bow shock, magnetic pileup boundary, and ionopause characterization, as well as the behaviour of the topside and bottomside of the ionosphere taking into account the planet’s orbital eccentricity. Moreover, I will show the effect of electron precipitation from large Space Weather events in the very low Martian ionosphere, a region that it is non-accessible to in-situ spacecraft observations. Finally, I will conclude the presentation by giving my perspective on some of the key outstanding questions that remain unknown, and I consider they constitute the next generation of Mars’ ionospheric and Space Weather science and exploration.</p>

Mars’ ionosphere: from our current knowledge to the way forward

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Sanchez-Cano
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Space Weather ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Conducting Layer ◽  
Neutral Atmosphere ◽  
Orbital Eccentricity ◽  
Large Space ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Martian Ionosphere

<p>The ionosphere of Mars is the conducting layer embedded within the thermosphere and exosphere that is mostly the result of solar EUV photoionization. It is also the layer that links the neutral atmosphere with space, and acts as the main obstacle to the solar wind. The ionosphere’s interaction with the solar wind is a critical aspect that determines the Martian atmospheric evolution, and ultimately the planet’s habitability. This interaction is often referred to as planetary Space Weather, the forecast of which is currently challenging due to the lack of a permanent in-situ solar wind monitor at Mars. Understanding the ionospheric response to solar wind variability is, therefore, essential in order to assess the response of the Martian plasma environment to the dissipation of energy from solar storms, and their impact on current technology deployed on the red planet.</p><p>This lecture will focus on our current knowledge of the Martian ionosphere. In particular, I will focus on our recent advances in the understanding of the Martian ionospheric reaction to different Space Weather events during the solar cycle, both from the data analysis and ionospheric modelling perspectives. Some important aspects to consider are the bow shock, magnetic pileup boundary, and ionopause characterization, as well as the behaviour of the topside and bottomside of the ionosphere taking into account the planet’s orbital eccentricity. Moreover, I will show the effect of electron precipitation from large Space Weather events in the very low Martian ionosphere, a region that it is not accessible to in-situ spacecraft observations. Finally, I will conclude the presentation by giving my perspective on some of the key outstanding questions that remain unknown, and I consider they constitute the next generation of Mars’ ionospheric science and exploration.</p><p> </p>

scholarly journals From solar eruption to transformer saturation: the space weather chain

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (S300) ◽  
pp. 500-501
Author(s):  
Larisa Trichtchenko
Keyword(s):  
Space Weather ◽  
Geomagnetic Field ◽  
Geomagnetic Storms ◽  
Interplanetary Medium ◽  
Practical Importance ◽  
Power Grids ◽  
Geomagnetically Induced Currents ◽  
Large Space ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Induced Currents

AbstractCoronal mass ejections (CME) and associated interplanetary-propagated solar wind disturbances are the established causes of the geomagnetic storms which, in turn, create the most hazardous impacts on power grids. These impacts are due to the large geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) associated with variations of geomagnetic field during storms, which, flowing through the transformer windings, cause extra magnetisation. That can lead to transformer saturation and, in extreme cases, can result in power blackouts. Thus, it is of practical importance to study the solar causes of the large space weather events. This paper presents the example of the space weather chain for the event of 5-6 November 2001 and a table providing complete overview of the largest solar events during solar cycle 23 with their subsequent effects on interplanetary medium and on the ground. This compact overview can be used as guidance for investigations of the solar causes and their predictions, which has a practical importance in everyday life.

scholarly journals A magnetodisc model service for planetary space weather studies

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. A24
Author(s):  
Nicholas Achilleos ◽  
Patrick Guio ◽  
Nicolas André ◽  
Arianna M. Sorba
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Space Weather ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Plasma Pressure ◽  
Space Environment ◽  
Solar Wind Flow ◽  
Physical Response ◽  
Global Magnetic Field ◽  
Upstream Solar Wind ◽  
Azimuthal Current

Theoretical models play an important role in the Planetary Space Weather Services (PSWS) of the European Planetary Network (“Europlanet”), due to their ability to predict the physical response of magnetospheric environments to compressions or rarefactions in the upstream solar wind flow. We illustrate this aspect by presenting examples of some calculations done with the UCL Magnetodisc Model in both “Jupiter” and “Saturn” mode. Similar model outputs can now be provided via the PSWS MAGNETODISC service. For each planet’s space environment, we present example model outputs showing the effect of compressions and rarefactions on the global magnetic field, plasma pressure and azimuthal current density. As a simple illustration of the physics underlying these reference models, we quantify solar wind effects by comparing the “compressed” and “expanded” outputs to a nominal “average-state” model, reflecting more typical solar wind dynamic pressures. We also describe the implementation of the corresponding PSWS MAGNETODISC Service, through which similar outputs may be obtained by potential users.

Severe Space Weather: Simulations of Scaled-Up Storms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim Raeder ◽  
Beket Tulegenov ◽  
William Douglas Cramer ◽  
Kai Germaschewswski ◽  
Banafsheh Ferdousi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Space Weather ◽  
Extreme Events ◽  
The Other ◽  
Polar Cap ◽  
Quiet Sun ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
The One ◽  
Extreme Space Weather Events

<p>Extreme space weather events are extremely rare, but pose a significant threat to our infrastructure. The one known event of such kind was the Carrington storm of 1859, but it was not well documented; in particular the solar wind and IMF conditions that caused it remain guesses. On the other hand, the STEREO-A observations of July 23, 2012 showed solar wind and IMF parameters that are most likely comparable to those of the Carrington event, and remind us that such extreme events are very well possible even during times of a quiet sun. Here, we use OpenGGCM simulations of such events to assess the effects of such solar wind and IMF on the magnetosphere. Precious work has shown that during the much more benign Halloween storm the nose of the magnetopause was as close as 4.9 RE, with an accordingly large polar cap. We will present simulations of a sequence of scaled-up storms with increasingly larger driving and demonstrate the further expansion of the polar cap, intensity of plasma injections, and the eventual saturation. In addition, we will show how the ionosphere potential penetrates to lower latitudes and affects the ionosphere and thermosphere at mid latitudes when the solar wind drivers become extreme.</p>

scholarly journals What can the annual 10Be solar activity reconstructions tell us about historic space weather?

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. A23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Barnard ◽  
Ken G. McCracken ◽  
Mat J. Owens ◽  
Mike Lockwood
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cycle ◽  
Space Weather ◽  
Geomagnetic Storms ◽  
Solar Energetic Particle ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Magnetic Activity ◽  
Cycle Phase ◽  
Large Space ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Solar Magnetic Activity

Context: Cosmogenic isotopes provide useful estimates of past solar magnetic activity, constraining past space climate with reasonable uncertainty. Much less is known about past space weather conditions. Recent advances in the analysis of 10Be by McCracken & Beer (2015, Sol Phys 290: 305–3069) (MB15) suggest that annually resolved 10Be can be significantly affected by solar energetic particle (SEP) fluxes. This poses a problem, and presents an opportunity, as the accurate quantification of past solar magnetic activity requires the SEP effects to be determined and isolated, whilst doing so might provide a valuable record of past SEP fluxes. Aims: We compare the MB15 reconstruction of the heliospheric magnetic field (HMF), with two independent estimates of the HMF derived from sunspot records and geomagnetic variability. We aim to quantify the differences between the HMF reconstructions, and speculate on the origin of these differences. We test whether the differences between the reconstructions appear to depend on known significant space weather events. Methods: We analyse the distributions of the differences between the HMF reconstructions. We consider how the differences vary as a function of solar cycle phase, and, using a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, we compare the distributions under the two conditions of whether or not large space weather events were known to have occurred. Results: We find that the MB15 reconstructions are generally marginally smaller in magnitude than the sunspot and geomagnetic HMF reconstructions. This bias varies as a function of solar cycle phase, and is largest in the declining phase of the solar cycle. We find that MB15's excision of the years with very large ground level enhancement (GLE) improves the agreement of the 10Be HMF estimate with the sunspot and geomagnetic reconstructions. We find no statistical evidence that GLEs, in general, affect the MB15 reconstruction, but this analysis is limited by having too few samples. We do find evidence that the MB15 reconstructions appear statistically different in years with great geomagnetic storms.

scholarly journals Solar wind modulation of the Martian ionosphere observed by Mars Global Surveyor

2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 2277-2281 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-S. Wang ◽  
E. Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Electron Density ◽  
Neutral Atmosphere ◽  
Mars Global Surveyor ◽  
Ionospheric Electron Density ◽  
Density Profiles ◽  
Energetic Proton ◽  
Martian Ionosphere ◽  
Proton Precipitation ◽  
Electron Density Profiles

Abstract. Electron density profiles in the Martian ionosphere observed by the radio occultation experiment on board Mars Global Surveyor have been analyzed to determine if the densities are influenced by the solar wind. Evidence is presented that the altitude of the maximum ionospheric electron density shows a positive correlation to the energetic proton flux in the solar wind. The solar wind modulation of the Martian ionosphere can be attributed to heating of the neutral atmosphere by the solar wind energetic proton precipitation. The modulation is observed to be most prominent at high solar zenith angles. It is argued that this is consistent with the proposed modulation mechanism.

scholarly journals Energetic Particle Precipitation during Extreme Space Weather Events

2020 ◽  
Vol 196 ◽  
pp. 01006
Author(s):  
Olesya Yakovchuk ◽  
Irina Mironova
Keyword(s):  
Space Weather ◽  
Energetic Particle ◽  
Geomagnetic Storms ◽  
Ozone Level ◽  
Particle Precipitation ◽  
Large Space ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Energetic Particle Precipitation ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Extreme Space Weather Events

Here we provide a selection of extreme geomagnetic storms of the last century based on NOAA classification which lead to the energetic particle precipitation (EPP). EPP of such geomagnetic storms can cause power outages, communication failures, and navigation problems as well as impact on the environment and the ozone level. Studies of historical extreme geomagnetic storms together with EPP for large space weather events in the space era can help to reconstruct the parameters of extreme events of past centuries.

The Response of the Martian Atmosphere to Space Weather

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (S335) ◽  
pp. 114-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Brain
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Space Weather ◽  
Martian Atmosphere ◽  
Ion Escape ◽  
Auroral Electron ◽  
Planetary Magnetic Fields ◽  
Variable Space ◽  
Solar Storms ◽  
Mass Ejection ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractMars lacks a global dynamo magnetic field to shield it from the solar wind and solar storms, so may be especially sensitive to changing space weather compared to Earth. Inputs from the Sun and solar wind have been measured continuously at Mars for 20 years, and intermittently for more than 50 years. Observations of the influence of the variable space weather at Mars include compression and reconfiguration of the magnetosphere in response to solar storms, increased likelihood of aurora and increased auroral electron energies, increased particle precipitation and ionospheric densities during flare and energetic particle events, and increased ion escape during coronal mass ejection events. Continuing measurements at Mars provide a useful vantage point for studying space weather propagation into the heliosphere, and are providing insight into the evolution of the Martian atmosphere and the role that planetary magnetic fields play in helping planets to retain habitable conditions near their surface.

scholarly journals Improving solar wind persistence forecasts: Removing transient space weather events, and using observations away from the Sun-Earth line

Space Weather ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 802-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Kohutova ◽  
François-Xavier Bocquet ◽  
Edmund M. Henley ◽  
Matthew J. Owens
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Space Weather ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Weather Events

scholarly journals First-principles modeling of geomagnetically induced electromagnetic fields and currents from upstream solar wind to the surface of the Earth

2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 881-893 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Pulkkinen ◽  
M. Hesse ◽  
M. Kuznetsova ◽  
L. Rastätter
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Electromagnetic Fields ◽  
Space Weather ◽  
First Principles ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Geomagnetically Induced Currents ◽  
Modeling Process ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Upstream Solar Wind

Abstract. Our capability to model the near-space physical phenomena has gradually reached a level enabling module-based first-principles modeling of geomagnetically induced electromagnetic fields and currents from upstream solar wind to the surface of the Earth. As geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) pose a real threat to the normal operation of long conductor systems on the ground, such as high-voltage power transmission systems, it is quite obvious that success in accurate predictive modeling of the phenomenon would open entirely new windows for operational space weather products. Here we introduce a process for obtaining geomagnetically induced electromagnetic fields and currents from the output of global magnetospheric MHD codes. We also present metrics that take into account both the complex nature of the signal and possible forecasting applications of the modeling process. The modeling process and the metrics are presented with the help of an actual example space weather event of 24–29 October 2003. Analysis of the event demonstrates that, despite some significant shortcomings, some central features of the overall ionospheric current fluctuations associated with GIC can be captured by the modeling process. More specifically, the basic spatiotemporal morphology of the modeled and "measured" GIC is quite similar. Furthermore, the presented user-relevant utility metrics demonstrate that MHD-based modeling can outperform simple GIC persistence models.

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