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

空间天气是一个术语，用于描述由于来自太阳的扰动而导致的近地空间环境条件的变化。加强美国观测、模拟和预报空间天气的能力的必要性已被广泛认识到，最近通过的两党PROSWIFT法案(促进空间天气研究和观测以改善明天的预报)就是例证。该奖项为社区协调建模中心(CCMC)的发展和运营提供支持，CCMC是美国对高层大气和日地环境中与空间天气高度相关的过程进行建模的主要中心。空间科学中心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。具体地说，这项工作将进一步发展电离层-热层-中层(ITM)研究模型，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)改进国际热带气旋管理的模拟能力，包括纳入中低大气层，提高模式的便携性和升级的便捷性；(2)安装新的模式组合，将国际大气层管理系统与磁层结合起来；(3)开发CCMC软件的一个新的国际大气层管理组成部分，用于模式输出获取、内插和后处理，并开发一个新的工具，从上到下研究国际大气层管理驱动因素的相对重要性；(4)为所有国际大气层管理模式和模拟结果增加元数据属性；(5)为国际大气层管理模式评价项目和全社区模拟挑战开发新的在线系统；以及(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。该项目还将继续和扩大CCMC的研究、教育和发展倡议(REDI)，提供实习机会，并让学生参与CCMC广泛的活动。实习生参与的活动将包括支持教育工作者开设空间天气课程，该课程将利用天文馆和教室中的空间天气模拟的交互式可视化。该奖项反映了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。

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.