ANSWERS: Dynamics and Impacts of Electrons and Ions in the Earth’s Magnetosphere-Ionosphere System

了解地球的磁层及其与电离层的联系对于正确预测空间天气事件至关重要，空间天气事件对电网、电信和卫星等人类建造的技术构成潜在威胁。磁层-电离层系统的特点是等离子体(电子和离子)相互作用耦合在一起，本质上是复杂的。这一系统的最先进模型往往依赖于简化，导致在预测空间天气事件方面存在缺陷。该项目旨在提高我们对地球上层大气中复杂的等离子体相互作用进行建模的能力。一个主要由来自普林斯顿大学、新汉普郡大学和阿拉斯加大学的早期研究人员组成的团队将在这个项目上与空间天气预报员和电网运营商合作。虽然空间天气令人着迷，但由于其复杂性和跨学科性质，它在K-12 STEM课程中受到的关注较少。为了让学生更广泛地获得空间气象信息，该项目团队将专注于教育人员培训，制作引人入胜的课程材料，并与美国国家科学基金会资助的地下空间天气项目合作，该项目服务于历史上服务不足的群体。该项目是一个模型工作，旨在研究地球磁层-电离层-热层系统的动力学，研究电子和重离子在磁尾重新连接和随后的极光流光电驱动中的作用。该模型将包括微观不稳定性和宏观输运之间的自洽耦合。该团队将应用OpenGGCM模型的新功能来发展多电子-多离子流体动力学，纳入超越磁流体动力学的重要动力学物理。他们将调查电子和离子物种(H和O)在外层磁层中的传输，以及对磁尾重联的影响，磁尾重联是磁层空间天气事件中的一个控制过程。利用开源GITM模式，将在高层大气中研究磁层电子动力学和电驱动对极光流光的影响，极光流光是一种关键的M-I耦合产品。与电网运营商合作，将提供地磁感应电流的估计。该小组将通过以空间气象科学为重点的中等教育人员培训、创建引人入胜的材料(包括数据素养、可视化和动手实践)以及与美国国家科学基金会资助的地下空间天气项目合作来促进K-12 STEM教育。Answers项目通过填补关于日地耦合系统的关键知识空白，促进了国家的STEM专业知识和社会对空间天气灾害的适应能力。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。

Understanding the Earth’s magnetosphere and its connection to the ionosphere is crucial for correctly predicting space weather events, which are a potential hazard to human-built technology such as power grids, telecommunications, and satellites. The magnetosphere-ionosphere system is characterized by plasma (electron and ion) interactions that are coupled together and inherently complex. State-of-the-art models of this system often rely on simplifications that lead to deficiencies in predicting space weather events. This project aims to improve our ability to model the complex plasma interactions in Earth’s upper atmosphere. A team of mainly early-career researchers from Princeton University, University of New Hampshire and University of Alaska will collaborate with space weather forecasters and power grid operators on this project. While space weather is fascinating, it has received less attention in K-12 STEM curricula due to its complexity and transdisciplinary nature. To make space weather information more widely available to students, the project team will focus on educator training, create engaging curricular materials, and collaborate with the NSF-funded Space Weather Underground project, which serves historically underserved groups.This project is a modeling effort to investigate the dynamics of the Earth’s magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere system, addressing the role of electrons as well as heavy ions in magnetotail reconnection and the subsequent electric driving of auroral streamers. The modeling will include self-consistent coupling between micro-instabilities and macro-transport. The team will apply new capabilities of the OpenGGCM model to evolve multi-electron-multi-ion fluid dynamics, incorporating significant kinetic physics beyond magnetohydrodynamics. They will investigate the transport of electron and ion species (H+ and O+) in the outer magnetosphere, as well as the impact on magnetotail reconnection, a controlling process in magnetospheric space weather events. The impact of magnetospheric electron dynamics and electric driving on aurora streamers, a critical M-I coupling product, will be studied in the upper atmosphere using open-source GITM model. In collaboration with a power grid operator, estimates of geomagnetically-induced current will be delivered. The team will promote K-12 STEM education through secondary educator training focused on space weather science, creation of engaging materials (including data literacy, visualization, and hands-on practices), and collaboration with the NSF-funded Space Weather Underground project. ANSWERS projects advance the nation’s STEM expertise and societal resilience to space weather hazards by filling key knowledge gaps regarding the coupled Sun-Earth system.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.