Community Coordinated Modeling Center: Facilitating Space Weather Research, Advancing Forecasting, and Providing Hands-On Opportunities for Education

空间天气是用来描述由于来自太阳的扰动而导致的近地空间环境条件变化的术语。加强美国观测、建模和预报空间天气能力的必要性已得到广泛认可，最近通过的两党合作的PROSWIFT法案（促进空间天气研究和观测以改善未来预报）就是一个例证。该奖项为社区协调建模中心（CCMC）的开发和运营提供支持，CCMC是美国高层大气和日地环境中与空间天气高度相关的过程建模的首要中心。CCMC提供对空间科学社区模型的访问，并根据请求提供模型的运行时间。具体而言，这项工作将进一步开发电离层-热层-中间层研究界支助模型，并提供空间气象方面的实践教育和宣传。这些活动将包括：（1）改进ITM建模能力，包括纳入低层和中层大气，提高模型的便携性和便于升级;（2）安装新的模型组合，将ITM系统与磁层连接起来;（3）开发了CCMC软件的一个新的ITM组件，用于模型输出访问，插值和后处理以及从上到下研究ITM驱动因素相对重要性的新工具：（4）为所有ITM模型和模拟结果添加元数据属性;（5）为ITM模型评估项目和社区范围的建模挑战开发新的在线系统;（6）提供新的服务和工具，以支持NSF地球空间设施和空间天气计划。该项目还将继续并扩展CCMC的研究，教育和发展计划（REDI），该计划提供实习机会，并让学生参与CCMC的广泛活动。涉及实习生的活动将包括支持教育工作者开设空间气象课程，这些课程将利用天文馆和教室中空间气象模拟的交互式可视化。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Space Weather is the term used to describe changing environmental conditions in the near-Earth space as a result of disturbances originating from the Sun. The need to strengthen the US ability to observe, model, and forecast Space Weather has been widely recognized, as exemplified by the recently passed bipartisan PROSWIFT Act (Promoting Research and Observations of Space Weather to Improve the Forecasting of Tomorrow). This award provides support for development and operations of the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC), a premier US center for modeling of processes in the upper atmosphere and the solar-terrestrial environment that are highly relevant to Space Weather. CCMC provides access to space science community models and also provides run-time for models upon request. Specifically, this work will further develop the models for Ionosphere-Thermosphere-Mesosphere (ITM) research community support and provide hands-on education and outreach in space weather. The activities will comprise (1) improvements in ITM modeling capabilities, including incorporation of the low and middle atmosphere and better model portability and ease of upgrades; (2) installation of new model combinations that would couple the ITM system and the magnetosphere; (3) development of a new ITM component of CCMC software for model output access, interpolation and post-processing and a new tool to study relative importance of ITM drivers from above and below; (4) addition of metadata attributes for all ITM models and simulation results; (5) development of new online system for ITM model evaluation projects and community-wide modeling challenges; and (6) provision of new services and tools to support NSF Geospace Facilities and Space Weather programs. This project will also continue and extend the Research, Education, and Development Initiative (REDI) at CCMC that provide internship opportunities and engage students in a broad spectrum of CCMC activities. The activities involving interns will include support for educators with setting up Space Weather courses which would utilize interactive visualization of Space Weather simulations in planetariums and classrooms.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.