Collaborative Research: Substorm and Storm Injection Studies Using a Coupled Global MHD - RCM Model

研究人员将研究磁层亚暴和磁暴期间向内磁层注入等离子体的物理学。该项目将使用由加州大学洛杉矶分校全球磁流体模型(MHD)和赖斯对流模型(RCM)组成的一个新的耦合模型。耦合模型将消除目前模型固有的缺点：缺乏环电流和MHD代码中正确的粒子漂移物理，以及RCM对经验子模型和特殊假设的依赖。耦合过程将通过使用一种新的数据结构在计算过程中的特定时间在模型之间交换信息来完成，从而允许模型并行运行，而不一定在同一计算机上。数据交换将以协议的形式进行，类似于万维网上使用的协议，这将允许最大限度的灵活性、可扩充性和开放性。模型的耦合将分六个阶段进行，复杂性不断增加。随着每个耦合阶段的完成，研究人员将建立一组选定的亚风暴和风暴事件的模型，并与现场观测进行全面的比较。这些比较将提供有关不同过程的相对重要性的信息。其目标是开发一个全球磁层模型，与当代模型相比，其能力有了很大改进，并对亚暴和风暴时间注入有更彻底的理解。

The investigators will study the physics of plasma injections into the inner magnetosphere during magnetospheric substorms and storms. The project will use a newly coupled model consisting of the UCLA global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model and the Rice Convection Model (RCM). The coupled model will eliminate the shortcomings that are currently inherent to the models: the lack of a ring current and correct particle drift physics in the MHD code, and the dependence of the RCM on empirical submodels and ad hoc assumptions. The coupling process will be done by using a novel data structure to exchange information between the models at certain times during the calculation, allowing the models to run in parallel, and not necessarily on the same computer. The data exchange will be in the form of a protocol, similar to the protocols that are used on the World Wide Web, which will allow for maximum flexibility, extensibility and openness. Coupling of the models will proceed in six stages of increasing complexity. As each coupling stage is completed the investigators will model a set of selected substorm and storm events and perform comprehensive comparisons with in situ observations. The comparisons will yield information about the relative importance of different processes. The goal is to develop a global magnetosphere model with much improved capabilities compared to contemporary models, and a much more thorough understanding of substorm and storm time injections.