Collaborative Research: GEM: System Study of the Plasmasphere in Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Coupling

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The Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) Program is a broad-based, community-initiated research program on the physics of the Earth's magnetosphere and the coupling of the magnetosphere to the atmosphere and to the solar wind. The work of GEM is accomplished in a series of campaigns and focus groups that solve specific problems leading to the construction of a global Geospace General Circulation Model (GGCM) with predictive capability. This project will contribute essential results to this goal pertaining to understanding the role of the magnetospheric plasma distribution and density in determining the efficiency of the solar wind-magnetosphere coupling. In addition, the project supports the development of independent research careers for two early-career space physics scientist. It also will offer educational opportunities for undergraduate students both at University of California Berkeley and University of Michigan Ann Arbor. The ultimate goal of this project is the development and validation of a global model capable of reproducing accurate plasmasphere dynamics and the self-consistent effects of the plasmasphere on the dayside reconnection rate and overall magnetopause dynamics. Utilizing existing state-of-the-art models, two different approaches for incorporating the plasmasphere in a global MHD model will be developed and evaluated using multipoint spacecraft measurements from the THEMIS, Van Allen Belts Probes, and LANL satellites missions. The best, and fully validated, approach will then be used to model three different storm events and measure the reconnection rates in a variety of ways with and without inclusion of the plasmasphere.