Investigating the Earth's magnetosphere using multi-spacecraft measurements

使用多航天器测量研究地球磁层

• 批准号: 2881734
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2881734
• 关键词: Investigating; Earth; magnetosphere; using; multi

The Earth's magnetosphere is a large dynamic structure whose behaviour remains only partially understood despite study over several decades. In the last decade an unprecedented and growing number of space plasma physics research missions has been collecting data in the magnetosphere, including Cluster, THEMIS, VAP, SWARM and MMS, each a multi-spacecraft mission in its own right. Careful planning has gradually brought the orbits of Cluster, MMS and THEMIS in particular into well coordinated alignments, so that the grand constellation has been able to make simultaneous measurements at key locations across the magnetotail in summer seasons, at the bowshock, magnetosheath and magnetopause in winter seasons and along the magnetopause flanks in spring and autumn seasons. Similarly, in all seasons these many spacecraft have regularly collected data throughout the inner magnetosphere.These newly collected data have as yet received limited attention, but the science operations that produced the data were designed to allow investigations of diverse unresolved or only partially resolved questions such as the nature of the process by which the cold, dense plasmasheet is formed, the nature and origin of north/south asymmetries on the magnetotail and of the cusps, the distribution and scale of reconnection sites through the magnetotail plasmasheet and across the magnetopause, the sequence of events in the magnetotail corresponding to auroral substorms, the fate of plasma populations injected into the inner magnetosphere during substorms and their possible contribution to radiation belt population enhancement and loss, and the physical processes at work in the auroral acceleration regions. The supervisor team has prior experience in all these areas.The aim of the project will be to explore the datasets produced in the planned observations seasons associated with one or more of these science goals, and to identify and analyse data from particularly interesting multi-mission, multi-spacecraft conjunctions, in order to shed new light on these long-standing questions. Magnetotail or magnetopause projects would likely be the most productive areas for initial study.

地球的磁层是一个巨大的动态结构，尽管经过几十年的研究，其行为仍然只有部分了解。在过去十年中，空间等离子体物理学研究飞行任务在磁层中收集数据的数量空前增加，其中包括Cluster、THEMIS、VAP、SWARM和MMS，每一项飞行任务本身都是多航天器使命。经过仔细规划，特别是星团、MMS和THEMIS的轨道逐渐协调一致，因此，大星座能够在夏季在磁尾的关键位置、冬季在弓形激波、磁鞘和磁层顶以及春季和秋季在磁层顶两侧沿着同时进行测量。同样，在所有季节，许多航天器都定期收集整个内磁层的数据。这些新收集的数据尚未受到有限的关注，但产生数据的科学操作旨在研究各种未解决或仅部分解决的问题，例如冷，致密等离子体形成过程的性质，磁尾和尖点上南北不对称的性质和起源，通过磁尾等离子体层和穿过磁层顶的重连点的分布和规模，磁尾中对应于极光亚暴的事件序列，在亚暴期间注入内磁层的等离子体群的命运及其对辐射带群的增强和损失的可能贡献，以及在极光加速区起作用的物理过程。该项目的目的是探索与这些科学目标中的一个或多个目标有关的计划观测季节中产生的数据集，并确定和分析特别有趣的多任务、多航天器连接产生的数据，以便对这些长期存在的问题有新的认识。磁尾或磁层顶项目可能是初步研究最有成效的领域。