Ionospheric Space Weather

This book describes essential concepts of, and the status quo in, the field of ionospheric space weather. It explains why our society on planet Earth and moving outwards into space cannot work safely, function efficiently, or progress steadily without committed and comprehensive research initiatives addressing space weather. These initiatives must provide space environment specifications, warnings, and forecasts, all of which need to be timely, accurate and reliable. Cause and effect models of the Earth’s ionosphere are discussed in terms of the spatial and temporal dimensions of background variability, storms, gradients, irregularities, and waves in both current and long-term research activities. Starting from dynamic processes on the Sun, in the interplanetary medium, and in the Earth’s magnetosphere, ionosphere, and atmosphere, the text focuses on the dominant features of the plasma medium under normal and extreme conditions over the European zone during the last few Solar Cycles. One of the book’s most unique features is a series of fundamental examples that offer profound insights into ionospheric climate and weather. Various approaches for acquiring and disseminating the necessary data and forecasting analyses are discussed, and interesting analogies are observed between terrestrial and space weather – both of which could produce lasting social consequences, with not only academic but also concrete economic implications. The book’s primary goal is to foster the development of ionospheric space weather products and services that are capable of satisfying the ever-growing demand for space-based technology, and are ready for the society of the not-so-distant future.

This monograph is the outcome of an American Geophysical Union Chapman Conference on longitude and hemispheric dependence of ionospheric space weather, including the impact of waves propagating from the lower atmosphere. The Chapman Conference was held in Africa as a means of focusing attention on an extensive geographic region where observations are critically needed to address some of the fundamental questions of the physical processes driving the ionosphere locally and globally. The compilation of papers from the conference describes the physics of this system and the mechanisms that control ionospheric space weather in a combination of tutorial-like and focused articles that will be of value to the upper atmosphere scientific community in general and to ongoing global magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere (MIT) modeling efforts in particular. A number of articles from each science theme describe details of the physics behind each phenomenon that help to solve the complexity of the MIT system. Because this volume is an outcome of the research presented at this first space science Chapman Conference held in Africa, it has further provided an opportunity for African scientists to communicate their research results with the international community. In addition, the meeting and this conference volume will greatly enhance the space science education and research interest in the African continent and around the world. Ionospheric Space Weather includes articles from six science themes that were discussed at the Chapman Conference in 2012. These include: Hemispherical dependence of magnetospheric energy injection and the thermosphere-ionosphere response Longitude and hemispheric dependence of storm-enhanced densities (SED) Response of the thermosphere and ionosphere to variability in solar radiation Longitude spatial structure in total electron content and electrodynamics Temporal response to lower-atmosphere disturbances Ionospheric irregularities and scintillation Ionospheric Space Weather: Longitude Dependence and Lower Atmosphere Forcing will be useful to both active researchers and advanced graduate students in the field of physics, geophysics, and engineering, especially those who are keen to acquire a global understanding of ionospheric phenomena, including observational information from all longitude sectors across the globe.

This book describes how to predict and forecast the state of planet Earth’s ionosphere under quiet and disturbed conditions in terms of dynamical processes in the weakly ionized plasma media of the upper atmosphere and their relation to available modern measurements and modelling techniques. It explains the close relationship between the state of the media and the radio wave propagation conditions via this media. The prediction and forecasting algorithms, methods and models are oriented towards providing a practical approach to ionospherically dependent systems design and engineering. Proper understanding of the ionosphere is of fundamental practical importance because it is an essential part of telecommunication and navigation systems that use the ionosphere to function or would function much better in its nonappearance on the Earth and on any planet with an atmosphere.

Space weather has an enormous influence on modern telecommunication systems even though we may not always appreciate it. We shall endeavor throughout this monograph to expose the relationships between space weather factors and the performance (or lack thereof) of telecommunication, navigation, and surveillance systems. Space weather is a rather new term, having found an oMicial expression as the result of several government initiatives that use the term in the title of programs. But it is the logical consequence of the realization that space also has weather, just as the lower atmosphere has weather. While the weather in space will influence space systems that operate in that special environment, it is also true that space weather will influence systems that we understand and use here on terra firma. This brings space weather home as it were. It is not some abstract topic of interest to scientists alone; it is a topic of concern to all of us. I hope to make this clear as the book unfolds. Why have I written this book? First of all, I love the topic. While at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), I had the opportunity to do research on many topics including: Thomson scatter radar and satellite beacon studies of the ionosphere, utilization of the NASA Gemini platform for ionospheric investigations, microwave radar propagation studies, I-IF signal intercept and direction-finding experiments, and multi-disciplinary studies of certain physical phenomena relevant to weapon systems development.

The adverse effects of extreme space weather on modern technology-power grid outages, high-frequency communication blackouts, spacecraft anomalies-are well known and well documented, and the physical processes underlying space weather are also generally well understood. Less well documented and understood, however, are the potential economic and societal impacts of the disruption of critical technological systems by severe space weather. As a first step toward determining the socioeconomic impacts of extreme space weather events and addressing the questions of space weather risk assessment and management, a public workshop was held in May 2008. The workshop brought together representatives of industry, the government, and academia to consider both direct and collateral effects of severe space weather events, the current state of the space weather services infrastructure in the United States, the needs of users of space weather data and services, and the ramifications of future technological developments for contemporary society's vulnerability to space weather. The workshop concluded with a discussion of un- or underexplored topics that would yield the greatest benefits in space weather risk management.

Space storms, the manifestation of bad weather in space, have a number of physical effects in the near-Earth environment: acceleration of charged particles in space, intensification of electric currents in space and on the ground, impressive aurora displays, and global magnetic disturbances on the Earth's surface. Space weather has been defined as `conditions on the Sun and in the solar wind, magnetosphere, ionosphere, and atmosphere that can influence the performance and reliability of space- and ground-based technological systems and can endanger human life'. The 19 chapters of this book, written by some of the foremost experts on the topic, present the most recent developments in space storm physics and related technological issues, such as malfunction of satellites, communication and navigation systems, and electric power distribution grids. Readership: researchers, teachers and graduate students in space physics, astronomy, geomagnetism, space technology, electric power and communication technology, and non-specialist physicists and engineers. As recommended in the United Nations Space & Atmospheric Science Education Curriculum booklet. Please find it amongst classics such as T.J.M. Boyd, J.J. Sanderson, J.K. Hargreaves and M.C. Kelly etc.

The adverse effects of extreme space weather on modern technology-power grid outages, high-frequency communication blackouts, spacecraft anomalies-are well known and well documented, and the physical processes underlying space weather are also generally well understood. Less well documented and understood, however, are the potential economic and societal impacts of the disruption of critical technological systems by severe space weather. This volume, an extended four-color summary of the book, Severe Space Weather Events-Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts, addresses the questions of space weather risk assessment and management. The workshop on which the books are based brought together representatives of industry, the government, and academia to consider both direct and collateral effects of severe space weather events, the current state of the space weather services infrastructure in the United States, the needs of users of space weather data and services, and the ramifications of future technological developments for contemporary society's vulnerability to space weather. The workshop concluded with a discussion of un- or underexplored topics that would yield the greatest benefits in space weather risk management.