Space Weather: IMF Control of Ionospheric Variability and Electrical Power Disruptions

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This project investigates the ionospheric perturbations impacting radio communication systems, and the failures of electrical power companies. Both practical concerns and their associated strategic and economic impacts are linked by the subtleties of the interplanetary magnetic filed (IMF). Studies show both of these have a severity that follows a semi-annual pattern, one with maxima during months spanning the equinoxes. This is a well known effect in geomagnetic activity linked to IMF interactions with the terrestrial magnetosphere. This project will extend the concept of such "geo-effectiveness" to the specification of ionospheric variability, as ordered and predicted by IMF geometry. The goal is to probe the fundamental nature of IMF linkages to the inner terrestrial environment in order to understand how such major impacts as power failures can occur.