Introducing a Means to Characterize Location-Specific Space Weather Hazards of Societal Significance in the Near-Earth Environment

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The goal of the proposed work is to greatly improve our ability to understand and predict space weather hazards on society in the near-Earth environment.  Specifically, models of the impact of a coronal mass ejection originating from the sun as it interacts with the Earth's ionosphere and atmosphere and lithosphere will be generated.  Applications of this work include:  (1) protecting the electric power grid from blackouts caused by space weather; and (2) maintaining communication capabilities during space weather events. A 2008 National Academies report indicated that extreme space weather events, "though rare, are likely to occur again some time in the future."  However, it is clear that the re-occurrence of an 1859-magnitude space weather-driven geomagnetic storm could disrupt modern society to a much greater degree than in 1859 due to the proliferation of vital but vulnerable electrotechnologies (such as power grids and wireless communications).The methodology of the proposed work involves the application of detailed, high-resolution Maxwell's equations finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) models of the Earth-ionosphere waveguide developed by the PI over the past decade.  These three-dimensional (3-D) models will include such details as the Earth's topography, oceans, lithosphere composition, and ionosphere plasma (both small and large-scale structures).  Output data will be location-specific electromagnetic field data that will be used to improve our ability to maintain power grid operations and communications during space weather events.