Analysis and Prediction of Magnetospheric Plasma Energy Dynamics with the Wind Driven Magnetospheric-Ionospheric (WINDMI) Model

This award will provide support for the development of a model of the energy dynamics of plasma populations in the magnetosphere under various solar wind driving conditions, focusing in particular on geomagnetic storms and substorms. The research will achieve a significant insight into how the magnetosphere-ionosphere system responds to solar wind driving conditions.

The new model would provide valuable information on how the total energy content and energy transfers among the largest reservoirs within the magnetosphere are to be understood. This information would be used to establish the possible state of the magnetosphere prior to and during geomagnetic events. The new model would be capable of fast and robust predictions that can be compared with results from more comprehensive magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) or kinetic models.

The project would produce a software implementation of the model as a product to the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Space Physics Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) operated by NASA. Space Weather and its effects are assuming major importance in modern times. The training of students in Electrical Engineering and Systems Engineering in space weather will increase awareness among technologists and help them to become more aware of space weather effects.

The scientific methods and model development to be achieved in this project will be incorporated into otherwise highly theoretical courses for engineers.

The new model would be computationally inexpensive to run. It can be easily ported to a mobile platform and used by space weather enthusiasts to explore space physics. Undergraduate students, K¬12 students and the public, will be able to run this model and start to appreciate space science while getting a powerful glimpse into the tools and methods of the geospace community.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.