Collaborative Research: GEM: The Ionospheric Source of Magnetospheric Plasma-- Measuring, Modeling and Merging into the GEM Geospace General Circulation Model (GGCM)

该项目将把对整个磁层-电离层系统中电离层离子的观测与电离层外流的广义极风模型和模拟磁层的磁流体动力学程序结合起来。GPW是宏观粒子单元(Mac-PIC)代码。它将与块自适应树太阳风Roe型迎风方案(BATS-R-US)MHD模式耦合，使用一个名为空间天气建模框架的系统。这些代码将用于执行一组模拟，代表陆地季节、太阳通量水平和磁层活动水平的组合。耦合模型的结果将与未耦合的结果进行比较，以阐明电离层等离子体在磁层动力学中的作用。为了验证和改进模拟结果，将根据历史数据集构建电离层和磁层内流出等离子体的气候学观测集。气候学模型将根据季节、磁场活动和位置进行分类。将进行事件模拟，并与气候数据进行比较，以研究瞬变动力学。该项目将增进我们对地球电离层环境在用等离子体填充其磁层空间环境方面的作用的理解。在气候学和事件研究层面上的数据模型比较，将提高电离层外流模型和地球空间大气环流模型的准确性。电离层外流模型与磁层MHD模型的耦合将为我们预测磁层动力学的能力增加一个根本重要的因素。

This project will combine observations of ionospheric ions throughout the magnetosphere-ionosphere system with the Generalized Polar Wind (GPW) model of ionospheric outflows and a magnetohydrodynamic code for simulating the magnetosphere. The GPW is a macroscopic Particle-In-Cell (mac-PIC) code. It will be coupled to the Block Adaptive Tree Solar wind Roe-type Upwind Scheme (BATS-R-US) MHD model using a system called the Space Weather Modeling Framework. The codes will be used to perform a set of simulations, representing a combination of terrestrial season, level of solar flux, and level of magnetospheric activity. The results from the coupled models will be compared to uncoupled results to illuminate the role of the ionospheric plasma in magnetospheric dynamics. To validate and refine the simulation results, a climatological observation set of outflowing plasma both in the ionosphere and within the magnetosphere will be constructed from historical data sets. The climatological model will be binned by season, magnetic activity, and location. Event simulations will be performed and compared with the climatological data to investigate transient dynamics. This project will advance our understanding of the role of the Earth's ionospheric environment in filling its magnetospheric space environment with plasma. The data-model comparisons, both on a climatological and event-study level, will advance the accuracy of ionospheric outflow models and Geospace General Circulation Models. The coupling of an ionospheric outflow model to an MHD model of the magnetosphere will add a fundamentally important element to our ability to forecast the dynamics of the magnetosphere.