DR ASTRID MAUTE
V ews from the top
An expert n the sc ence of the upper atmosphere, Dr Astr d Maute outl nes her research on atmospher c t des and descr bes how t w ll help mprove space weather pred ct on capab l ty
an you ntroduce yourself and your academ c the m ddle atmosphere dur ng SSWs w th atmosphere It s necessary to br ng together background How have your research numer cal models s challeng ng, s nce the researchers from the d fferent doma ns (the nvest gat ons evolved s nce you f rst o ned the models cannot resolve all spat al scales and magnetosphere and upper, m ddle and lower H gh Alt tude Observatory n olorado, USA therefore depend on parameter sat on of atmosphere) to work on the problem as a smaller scale waves olleagues at the Nat onal whole In add t on, observers and numer cal When I f rst started work ng at the Observatory enter for Atmospher c Research developed modellers must collaborate to nterpret – part of the Nat onal enter for Atmospher c a scheme to correct the m ddle atmosphere, observat ons and s mulat ons fully, generate Research – Dr Arthur R chmond, who s wh ch makes t poss ble to exam ne SSW deas about poss ble underly ng phys cal one of the lead ng experts on onospher c effects n the onosphere We could reproduce mechan sms and h ghl ght mportant factors electrodynam cs, ntroduced me to the these events and analyse the model for the nfluenc ng the system These can then be sc ence of the upper atmosphere Together mportant t dal components respons ble tested by models and ver f ed by observat ons we worked on d fferent aspects of s mulat ng for the electrodynam c changes n the low onospher c electrodynam c effects, nclud ng lat tude onosphere How do you see your work progress ng n the plasma pressure grad ent and grav ty dr ven com ng years current, observed by the halleng ng M n - What s the purpose of the NASA Ionospher c Satell te Payload satell te Several years ago, onnect on (I ON) explorer m ss on Progress n understand ng the TI system I was fortunate to beg n work ng w th Dr depends very much on ava lable observat ons, Maura Hagan, whose research focuses on The I ON explorer m ss on, led by Pr nc pal wh ch are sparse compared w th meteorolog cal the generat on and propagat on of t dal and Invest gator Dr Thomas Immel and scheduled observat ons The NASA I ON proect has planetary waves and the r mpact on the upper to launch n , s ded cated to explor ng the the potent al to advance the f eld, not only by atmosphere The focus of my research s st ll thermosphere- onosphere (TI) system and ts solv ng the quest ons we can formulate now, reflected by these collaborat ons, w th an boundary between Earth and space One aspect but also by d scover ng new phenomena and nterest n us ng numer cal models to explore of the proect s to shed l ght on the coupl ng poss ble mechan sms not yet mag ned by the the effects, coupl ng mechan sms and the mechan sm between Earth’s weather and space research commun ty mportance of atmospher c t des and global weather I ON s focused on the low-lat tude scale waves on the onosphere reg on, where neutral w nds n the onosphere In general, numer cal modell ng tends to can push plasma around and establ sh electr c go n the d rect on of ncreased resolut on You part c pate n NASA’s L v ng W th a Star f elds that map along the geomagnet c f eld and novel coupl ng of d fferent reg mes – Targeted Research & Technology (LWS-TR&T) l ne of the Earth and can lead to changes of the the plasmasphere, magnetosphere and programme about ‘Atmosphere-Ionosphere onospher c plasma d str but on In add t on, the troposphere, for example As models become oupl ng Dur ng Stratospher c Sudden onospher c var ab l ty depends on the neutral more soph st cated, the ncreas ng complex ty Warm ngs’ What are ts central goals compos t on that w ll be measured by I ON The necess tates larger mult d sc pl nary m ss on was conf rmed n October by NASA collaborat ons to eluc date the phys cs fully Its overarch ng a m s to further our headquarters and s proceed ng as scheduled and nterpret the results accurately It w ll be understand ng of vert cal coupl ng and ts Exc t ngly, t ncludes a strong numer cal exc t ng for me to contr bute and collaborate mportance for space weather var ab l ty, wh le modell ng component, and compar sons w th on the numer cal modell ng effort and use ts mprov ng our forecast capab l t es by focus ng the observat ons to exam ne the mportant results for observat onal nterpretat on on atmosphere- onosphere coupl ng dur ng vert cal coupl ng mechan sms stratospher c sudden warm ngs (SSWs) Are large collaborat ve pro ects such as I ON In recent years, Hagan and her colleagues have and LWS-TR&T necessary for ach ev ng real made progress by go ng from cl matolog cal ns ghts nto the Earth’s TI system spec f cat on of a l m ted subset of solar t des to the mplementat on of da ly vary ng Th s system s strongly nfluenced by the solar global perturbat ons orrectly represent ng w nd cond t ons as well as those from the lower
INTERNATIONAL INNOVATION Space weather The long-range outlook
Sc ent sts at the H gh Alt tude Observatory of the Nat onal enter for Atmospher c Research, USA, are attempt ng to understand the complex Sun-Earth connect on and thus reduce damage to terrestr al technolog cal systems
ALTHOUH IT IS rarely broadcast to the on Earth, but also long-term trends and the r general publ c, space weather can have a huge pr mary tr ggers Desp te s gn f cant recent effect on human l fe F rst used n the s, developments n research tools and equ pment, the term s def ned by NASA as the dynam c such as observ ng systems and quant tat ve and often fast-develop ng cond t ons w th n the models, fundamental quest ons about solar- solar system – on the Sun and n the solar w nd, terrestr al sc ence rema n unanswered magnetosphere, thermosphere and onosphere – that can nfluence the performance and S nce , t has been the m ss on of sc ent sts rel ab l ty of space-borne and ground-based at the H gh Alt tude Observatory of the Nat onal technolog cal systems and endanger human l fe enter for Atmospher c Research (N AR) n or health It has long been known that the Sun’s olorado, USA, to explore the coupled Sun- energy output determ nes these nterplanetary Earth system They are currently focused on cond t ons, although recent NASA m ss ons determ n ng the structure and dynam cs of have shown that weather on Earth can also Earth’s upper atmosphere, ts response to nfluence cond t ons n the upper atmosphere the effects of the solar w nd and the Sun’s The ab l ty of space weather to affect terrestr al rad at on, and the coupl ng between reg ons, systems – nclud ng commun cat ons, nclud ng w th the lower atmosphere Dr Astr d transportat on and electr cal power networks Maute s one such proect sc ent st She s – can lead to s gn f cant env ronmental, soc al us ng numer cal modell ng to study the upper and econom c costs and d srupt on atmospher c effects due to geospace and meteorolog cal forc ng Human ex stence has become ncreas ngly rel ant on technology that s suscept ble to A SINIFI ANT SYSTEM damage from space weather For soc ety to The thermosphere- onosphere (TI) system l m t the mpact of such damage, natural s a pr or ty area of research at the H gh hazards such as geomagnet c storms need to Alt tude Observatory The thermosphere become more pred ctable Upper atmosphere s the work ng env ronment of numerous sc ent sts face the challenge of evaluat ng not satell tes, nclud ng the Internat onal Space only the short-term mpacts of space weather Stat on, and t s where the maor ty of
urrently, the prec s on of space forecast ng s comparable to terrestr al weather pred ct ons approx mately years ago
www nternat onal nnovat on com space-based human act v t es occur “Due geospace cond t ons s cruc al for pred ct ng the to the low dens t es n the thermosphere, onospher c var ab l ty t s h ghly var able and eas ly nfluenced by confound ng factors, for example, solar N AR s ut l s ng the Thermosphere- rad at on, solar w nd and lower atmospher c Ionosphere-Mesosphere-Electrodynam cs forc ng,” Maute elaborates hanges n dens ty eneral rculat on Model (TIME- M) to INTELLIEN E could affect the orb tal routes and l fet mes s mulate SSW events “S mulat ng these events of satell tes, and var at ons n the onospher c can help allude to the or g n of onospher c HIH ALTITUDE OBSERVATORY env ronment could d srupt global pos t on ng d sturbances and uncover poss ble coupl ng OBJE TIVES systems (PS) and rad o commun cat ons mechan sms that can then be tested aga nst • To exam ne and understand how lower “The thermosphere and onosphere nfluence observat ons,” Maute expounds “Desp te th s, atmospher c d sturbances affect space each other through on-neutral coll s ons, comprehens ve observat ons are st ll lack ng, weather and the thermosphere- onosphere advect on and compos t on changes,” Maute but the NASA Ionospher c onnect on (I ON) (TI) system at d fferent lat tudes by dent fy ng expla ns “Therefore, understand ng the explorer m ss on w ll prov de the necessary the mportant coupl ng mechan sms processes and the r nteract on s mportant measurements to enhance our understand ng for pred ct ng space weather Even on the of the vert cal coupl ng mechan sms ” • To analyse the mportance of the lower atmosphere ground, changes n the onospher c currents var ab l ty on the TI system over the solar cycle that are part of the TI system can be measured I ONI INVESTIATIONS and under vary ng geomagnet c cond t ons n magnet c perturbat ons ” The proposed space-based I ON m ss on, due KEY OLLABORATORS to launch n , w ll exam ne the extreme Dr Arthur R chmond Dr Maura Hagan, Nat onal INTRINSI ALLY TIED TOETHER var ab l ty of Earth’s onosphere by measur ng enter for Atmospher c Research (N AR), USA L v ng W th a Star s a NASA sc ent f c the thermospher c w nds, n s tu electr c f elds, programme a med at advanc ng our thermospher c compos t on and F-reg on Dr Lar sa oncharenko, Massachusetts understand ng of the ntegral system plasma d str but on Its goals are to use Inst tute of Technology, USA coupl ng the Sun to the Earth, and dent fy ng observat ons to enhance understand ng of the Professor Jeffrey Forbes Dr Valery aspects that d rectly affect human l fe A dr vers of onospher c var ab l ty to expla n Yud n, Un vers ty of olorado, USA maor component s a targeted research and the propagat on of energy between Earth’s technology programme n wh ch the local atmosphere and space, and to understand FUNDIN processes and coupl ng between the lower and extreme weather, such as geomagnet c storms NASA grant nos NNXAP and NNXAN upper atmosphere, and the r consequences on N AR, wh ch s sponsored by the Nat onal the TI system, are be ng stud ed us ng per ods Maute s respons ble for the numer cal Sc ence Foundat on of h ghly d sturbed space weather modell ng aspects of the proect, focus ng on the coupl ng and effects of global scale waves ONTA T One such phenomenon that sc ent sts at on the TI system Us ng the f rst pr nc pal Dr Astr d Maute N AR are focus ng on s stratospher c sudden Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynam cs Proect Sc ent st warm ng (SSW), character sed by strong eneral rculat on Model (TIE- M), t w ll H gh Alt tude Observatory planetary wave act v ty n the w nter polar be poss ble to s mulate the TI system dur ng enter reen Dr ve stratosphere Th s s due to a d stort on or spl t the m ss on n order to conduct the numer cal Boulder, olorado of the polar vortex, creat ng huge var at ons tests that are necessary to help expla n and USA n the hor zontal w nds that lead to dramat c understand the observat ons changes n temperature – rap d ncreases n T + the stratosphere and cool ng n the mesosphere OMPLETIN THE PI TURE E mauteucar edu above Although t can take several weeks for Eluc dat ng the Sun’s complex nfluence http//b tly/Astr dMaute the d sturbed m ddle atmosphere to recover, an on space weather s an area of ncreas ng advantage s that SSW events can be rel ably mportance to soc ety at large, as t s necessary ASTRID MAUTE was awarded forecast Furthermore, the consequences of for the accurate pred ct on of space weather her PhD from the Un vers ty SSWs are not l m ted to the stratosphere and events urrently, the prec s on of space of Stuttgart, ermany, n mesosphere large onospher c var at ons forecast ng s comparable to terrestr al weather Her research nterests are n (changes of - per cent) can be measured pred ct ons approx mately years ago the modell ng of onospher c last ng for several days electrodynam cs, onospher c current systems In part cular, the onospher c env ronment plays and the r assoc ated magnet c perturbat ons Results from stud es carr ed out by Maute a huge part n understand ng and pred ct ng She stud es the upper atmosphere responses and her colleagues have shown that these space weather effects and th s needs to be from metrolog cal and geospace forc ng events are assoc ated w th var ous changes better character sed The research be ng – n atmospher c t dal and wave components, carr ed out at the H gh Alt tude Observatory lunar grav tat onal t des, onospher c w ll cont nue to support the development of electr c f elds, and electron dens t es and observat ons, theor es and models to study temperatures, for example Add t onally, SSWs space weather effects omb n ng numer cal are accompan ed by secondary t dal and modell ng w th the observat ons that w ll planetary wave product on and propagat on undoubtedly be ga ned from the launch of the nto the lower thermosphere Understand ng I ON m ss on w ll surely enable sc ent sts the coupl ng mechan sms for SSWs – nclud ng to comprehend these onospher c effects the energy transfer result ng n lower-upper Such research efforts hold great prom se for atmosphere coupl ng – under d fferent mprov ng our space weather pred ct ons
INTERNATIONAL INNOVATION