Quantitative Study of Geospace Phenomena Using Ground and Space Data

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。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。我研究的目的是利用我们在地面上测量的磁场和其他量来填补太空天气之谜的缺失部分。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。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。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。我们独特的、世界级的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，但粒子可以被加速到使它们具有“放射性”的能量。我们理想的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加拿大东部，通过磁力线与南极洲有重要和独特的联系。磁场产生于整个磁层和电离层。除了简单地测量外，我们还开发了强大的技术来确定它们的起源。通过加上空间测量，例如安培卫星星座的测量，我们可以确定近地空间的电流。这是空间等离子体动力学控制的重要组成部分。除了与极光密切相关外，太空电流还会导致地球上的磁场偏差，在极端情况下可能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。一个长期目标是基于地面磁场的空间天气预测能力。我们工作的实际方面将在当地通过研究对管道的影响以及在加拿大东部对电网的影响来推进。一个创新的培训计划将基于学生在我们天文台的住宿。

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. We must infer how matter and energy move near Earth, often from a minimum of data. The aim of my research is to use 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. The physics of the magnetosphere, or protective magnetic shell around the Earth, remains a major challenge in science. 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. Our 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 particles can be accelerated to energies that make them “radioactive”. Our ideal location allows investigating the processes that make auroras, including the mysterious “proton auroras”. We have magnetic detectors that stretch as far as eastern Canada, with important and unique links to Antarctica through magnetic field lines. Magnetic fields arise from the whole magnetosphere and ionosphere. Beyond simply measuring them, we have developed powerful techniques for determining where they originated. By adding in space-based measurements such as those of the AMPERE satellite constellation, we can determine electric currents in near-Earth space. This is an important element in the dynamic control of space plasma. Besides having a close association with auroras, space electric currents can 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 storms and substorms for which there is excellent satellite placement, to determine the dynamics of the magnetosphere in active times. One 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 pipelines, and in eastern Canada on power grids. An innovative training program will be based on student stays at our observatory.