Geospace Phenomena: Assessing Danger and Understanding Mechanisms

太阳风与地球的相互作用，就像我们熟悉的风一样，会带来破坏性的风暴。能量可以在“亚暴”中以爆炸性的方式释放，这通常以戏剧性的极光为特征。这种“太空天气”发生在近地空间的湍流等离子体中。表征它需要在地球和太空的许多点同时测量，我们的物理理解是基于对关键位置数据的仔细解释。磁层或地球周围的保护性磁壳的物理学仍然是科学上的一个重大挑战。我们必须推断出物质和能量是如何在地球附近运动的，通常只需要很少的数据。我的研究使用磁场和我们在地面上测量的其他量来填补太空天气之谜缺失的部分。我们在加拿大的仪器进行的测量与现代卫星舰队的测量相辅相成。通过提高我们对那里发生的复杂过程的理解，我们还将使从导航到电力传输等领域的实际应用成为可能。我独特的世界级极光观测站位于极光带和辐射带之间的过渡区域下方。磁层中等离子体气体的一些流动就像温和的微风，但一些粒子被加速到使它们具有“放射性”的能量。加拿大的理想地理位置允许研究极光的形成过程，包括神秘的“质子极光”。我们的磁探测器一直延伸到qusamubec，通过磁力线与南极洲有重要和独特的联系。除了简单地测量整个磁层和电离层的磁场外，我们还开发了强大的技术来精确定位它们的起源。再加上空间测量，如安培卫星星座的测量，我们就可以确定电流，这是控制空间等离子体的一个重要因素。这些太空电流会在地球上造成磁场偏差，在极端情况下会破坏我们的技术系统。我们将系统地使用磁场，包括来自南极相应地点的磁场，来确定活动水平上的近地电流，测量两个半球的响应，并评估其随太阳风条件的变化。我们将对那些卫星位置优越的风暴和亚风暴进行详细的事件研究，以确定活跃时期磁层的动力学。我们的长期目标是基于地面磁场的空间天气预测能力。我们的工作的实际方面将通过研究对电网的影响在当地进行。一个创新的培训计划将基于学生在我们天文台的住宿和监督学生在其他大学的研究生课程。

The solar wind's interaction with Earth can, like the familiar wind, bring on damaging storms. Energy can be released in an explosive way in “substorms”, which often feature dramatic auroras. This “space weather” takes place in the turbulent plasmas of near-Earth space. Characterizing it requires simultaneous measurements at many points on Earth and in space, and our physical understanding is based on careful interpretation of data from critical locations. The physics of the magnetosphere, or protective magnetic shell around the Earth, remains a major challenge in science. We must infer how matter and energy move near Earth, often from a minimum of data. My research uses magnetic fields and other quantities we measure on the ground to supply missing pieces of the space weather puzzle. Our instruments in Canada make measurements complementary to those from modern fleets of satellites. By improving our understanding of the complex processes that take place there, we will also enable practical applications in areas ranging from navigation to power transmission.My unique world-class auroral observatory is located below the transition region between the auroral zone and the radiation belts. Some flows of plasma gas in the magnetosphere are like gentle breezes, but some particles are accelerated to energies that make them “radioactive”. Canada's ideal location allows investigating the processes that make auroras, including the mysterious “proton auroras”. We have magnetic detectors that stretch as far as Québec, with important and unique links to Antarctica through magnetic field lines. Beyond simply measuring magnetic fields from the whole magnetosphere and ionosphere, we have developed powerful techniques for pinpointing their origins. Adding in space-based measurements such as those of the AMPERE satellite constellation, we can determine electric currents, an important element in the control of space plasma. These space electric currents cause magnetic deviations on Earth that in extreme cases can damage our technological systems. We will systematically use magnetic fields, including those from corresponding Antarctic sites, to determine near-Earth currents at many levels of activity, measuring the response in both hemispheres and evaluating how this varies with solar wind conditions. We will perform detailed event studies of those storms and substorms for which there is excellent satellite placement, to determine the dynamics of the magnetosphere in active times. Our long-term goal is a space weather predictive ability based on ground magnetic fields.The practical aspect of our work will go forward locally through studies of effects on power grids. An innovative training program will be based on student stays at our observatory and supervision of students in graduate programs at other universities.