Collaborative Research: Supersubstorms--Their Driving and Responses in the Magnetosphere, Ionosphere, and Thermosphere

超亚暴是在地球磁层中释放极大量能量的事件。当这些空间天气风暴发生时，它们会在大气层的外层--包括磁层、电离层和热层--驱动独特的反应。这项工作将研究超亚暴期间太阳风、磁层和电离层的特性，并确定它们与较弱风暴的不同之处。了解超级亚暴对于应对极端空间天气事件非常重要，极端空间天气事件可能导致高频通信中断以及卫星系统退化和损坏。这项研究还将支持早期职业科学家，研究结果将被纳入波士顿大学(BU)和加州大学洛杉矶分校(UCLA)的公共推广活动和本科生课程。该项目的科学目标是确定超亚暴期间的太阳风、磁层和电离层条件，以及它们与典型亚暴的区别。具体地说：(1)超亚暴的太阳风驱动条件和磁层-电离层-热层(M-I-T)耦合的前提条件是什么？(2)超亚暴的M-I-T响应是什么？(3)超亚暴和典型的亚暴和风暴期间的M-I-T响应有什么异同？由于极端事件对于统计研究来说还不够常见，这项工作是基于对具有有利的天地连接的多个事件的分析。太阳风观测(来自ACE、WIND、ARTEMIS、GeoTail和CLUSTER)将被用来描述太阳风的条件。磁层观测(来自THEMIS，星系团，RBSP，GOES)将在接近午夜时量化夜间磁层的响应。极光成像器将指明事件的地点、大小、时间和持续时间。其他电离层和热层观测将用于量化降水、洋流和中性风的强度。这些属性将与典型的亚风暴和风暴进行比较。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Supersubstorms are events that release extreme amounts of energy in the Earth's magnetosphere. When these space weather storms occur, they drive unique responses throughout the outer layers of the atmosphere - including the magnetosphere, ionosphere, and thermosphere. This work will study the properties of the solar wind, magnetosphere, and ionosphere during supersubstorms and determine how they differ from weaker storms. Understanding supersubstorms is important in preparing for extreme space weather events, which can cause disruptions in high frequency communications and degradation and damage to satellite systems. This research will also support early career scientists and results will be incorporated into public outreach events and undergraduate classes at Boston University (BU) and University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA).The scientific goal of the project is to determine solar wind, magnetosphere and ionosphere conditions during supersubstorms, and their differences from typical substorms. Specifically: (1) What are solar wind driving conditions of supersubstorms and preconditions in magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere (M-I-T) coupling? (2) What are M-I-T responses to supersubstorms? (3) What are similarities and differences in M-I-T responses during supersubstorms and during typical substorms and storms? Since extreme events are not common enough for a statistical study, this work is based on analyses of multiple events with favorable space-ground conjunctions. Solar wind observations (from ACE, WIND, ARTEMIS, Geotail and Cluster) will be used to characterize solar wind conditions. Magnetosphere observations (from THEMIS, Cluster, RBSP, GOES) will quantify nightside magnetospheric responses near midnight. Auroral imagers will specify location, size, timing and duration of events. Other ionosphere and thermosphere observations will be used to quantify strength of precipitation, currents and neutral winds. Those properties will be compared to typical substorms and storms.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.