ICON at AGU Fall Meeting
New Orleans, 11-15 Dec. 2017
AGU’s Fall Meeting is the largest
Earth and space science meeting in the world.
Below are ICON or GOLD-related sessions, posters and the SPA Town Hall (Monday
night).
Congratulations to Joe Huba, ICON Co-Investigator, who will be
presenting the 2017 Nicolet Lecture on Tuesday.
MONDAY, 11 DECEMBER 2017
08:00 - 10:00 New Orleans
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center - 252-254
For the first time in 26 years, a total solar eclipse will
occur in the North American on 21 August 2017. During the eclipse-induced
sudden interruption in solar illumination, the upper atmosphere will undergo
significant changes beyond what a normal sunset and sunrise process would
generate. Although eclipse effects have been studied for many decades, recent
major advances in modern observational techniques can provide timely new
information on eclipse upper atmospheric system response. Global numerical models
have become more capable of capturing important coupling processes on various
scales. This session will review existing theories and knowledge of eclipse
upper atmospheric effects, examine these against modern eclipse observations,
in particular during 21 August 2017, and identify unresolved and challenging
problems for future research. We welcome contributions addressing scientific
questions of the ionospheric, thermospheric and mesospheric variations during a
solar eclipse using ground-based and in situ measurements as well as numerical
models.
10:20 - 12:20 New Orleans
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center - R08
The ionosphere and thermosphere are very dynamic and strongly
coupled over various spatial and time scales during both quiet times and
geomagnetic storms. This session will address the recent progress, current
understanding, and future challenges of thermospheric and ionospheric research
at middle and low latitudes, and will focus on two areas. One area is
equatorial ionospheric electrodynamics and disturbances, including plasma
drift, equatorial spread F, plasma bubbles, and resultant scintillation.
Another area is the response of the ionospheric-thermospheric system to
geomagnetic storms, including penetration and dynamo electric fields, the
variations of neutral and ion compositions on the bottomside and topside,
atmospheric gravity waves and TIDs, and different drivers to the generation of
storm-time disturbances. We welcome observational, theoretical, and modeling
studies that improve our understanding and enable a better forecasting
capability of thermospheric and ionospheric dynamics and coupling processes.
Presentations on new instrument and observational methods are also encouraged.
13:40 -
18:00
New Orleans
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center - Poster Hall D-F Andrew C Nicholas et al
The
Winds-Ions-Neutral Composition Suite (WINCS) instrument, also known as the
Small Wind and Temperature Spectrometer (SWATS), was designed and developed
jointly by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and NASA/Goddard Space Flight
Center (GSFC) for ionosphere-thermosphere investigations in orbit between 120
and 550 km altitude. The WINCS design provides the following measurements in a
single package with a low Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP): 7.6 x 7.6 x 7.1 cm
outer dimensions, 0.75 kg total mass, and about 1.3 Watt total power: neutral
winds, neutral temperature, neutral density, neutral composition, ion drifts,
ion temperature, ion density and ion composition. The instrument has been
operating on the STP-Sat3 spacecraft since November of 2013. This work will
focus on a periods of fast cadence observations (0.3 s) and resulting spatial
and temporal observations of the O+ density near 475 km.
13:40 - 15:40 New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center - R01
Geospace (the ionosphere, thermosphere, plasmasphere and
magnetosphere) is driven by energy and momentum inputs from the Sun, internal
processes within these regions, and energy from the surface and lower
atmosphere. Satellite-based remote sensing (X-ray, UV, visible, IR and radio
frequencies) provides a cost-effective way to understand the system and its
global response as well as those regions where in situ measurements are
difficult. We welcome all contributions on imaging techniques, data analysis,
modeling/simulations for geospace studies and future sensor improvement.
14:08 - 14:21 New Orleans Ernest N. Morial
Convention Center - R01 Akinori Saito et al
Optical
imaging observation of the mesosphere, thermosphere, ionosphere, and
plasmasphere was carried out from the International Space Station (ISS) with
ISS-IMAP (Ionosphere, Mesosphere, upper Atmosphere, and Plasmasphere mapping)
mission instruments. ISS-IMAP instruments was installed on the Exposed Facility
of Japanese Experiment Module of the ISS in August, 2012, and removed in
August, 2015. They are two imagers, Visible-light and Infrared Spectrum Imager
(VISI) and Extreme UltraViolet Imager (EUVI). VISI made imaging observations of
the airglow and aurora in the nadir direction. It had two slits perpendicular
to the trajectory of ISS, and the movement of ISS made the two-dimensional
observation whose field-of-view width is 600km at 100km altitude. It covered
the wave length range from 500nm to 900nm. The airglow of 730nm (OH, Alt.
85km), 762nm (O2, Alt. 95km), and 630nm (O, Alt. 250km) were mainly observed
besides the other airglow, such as 589nm (Na) and 557 (O). EUVI made imaging
observation of the resonant scattering from ions. It had two telescopes, and
observed the resonant scattering of He+ in 30.4nm, and O+ in 83.4nm in the limb
direction. VISI captured the airglow structures whose wavelength from 80km to
500km. The concentric wave structures were frequently observed in the
mesosphere and lower thermosphere region. They are strong evidence of the
vertical coupling between the lower atmosphere and the upper atmosphere by
vertical propagation of the atmospheric gravity waves. The other airglow structures,
such as mesospheric bores, were also detected by ISS-IMAP/VISI. The meso-scale
structures in the ionosphere, such as plasma bubbles, and traveling ionospheric
disturbances were also observed. EUVI revealed the longitudinal structures of
He+ in the top side of the ionosphere. It was attributed to the neutral wind in
the thermosphere. In the presentation, the outline and results of the
ISS-IMAP's VISI and EUVI observations will be discussed.
16:00 - 18:00 New
Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center - R01
Geospace
(the ionosphere, thermosphere, plasmasphere and magnetosphere) is driven by
energy and momentum inputs from the Sun, internal processes within these
regions, and energy from the surface and lower atmosphere. Satellite-based
remote sensing (X-ray, UV, visible, IR and radio frequencies) provides a cost-effective
way to understand the system and its global response as well as those regions
where in situ measurements are difficult. We welcome all contributions on
imaging techniques, data analysis, modeling/simulations for geospace studies
and future sensor improvement.
16:13 - 16:28 New Orleans
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center - R01 Thomas J. Immel et al
The
Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, is a new NASA Explorer mission that
will explore the boundary between Earth and space to understand the physical
connection between our world and our space environment. This connection is made
in the ionosphere, which has long been known to exhibit variability associated
with the sun and solar wind. However, it has been recognized in the 21st
century that equally significant changes in ionospheric conditions are
apparently associated with energy and momentum propagating upward from our own
atmosphere. ICON’s goal is to weigh the competing impacts of these two drivers
as they influence our space environment. We describe the specific science
objectives that address this goal, as well as the means by which they will be achieved.
The instruments selected and the overall performance of the science payload
will be presented and discussed. The first evaluation of on-orbit instrument
performance, if available, and the expectation for future scientific research,
will also be discussed.
18:15
- 19:15 New
Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center - 228-230
We
urge you to meet with representatives from NASA and the National Science
Foundation (NSF) to become better informed about current and pending programs
and recent developments at both Agencies that address the SPA research areas.
This is your Townhall; this one hour session provides an opportunity to learn
about future plans for the discipline and to provide feedback to the funding
agencies.
This year we solicit questions from the SPA community in advance. You have the
chance to ask questions anonymously by submitting them to aguspaagencynight2017@gmail.com
You must submit your questions by November 15, 2017 for consideration. You will
also have a chance to ask questions in person during the Town Hall.
Not all questions submitted will be asked due to time constraints. Questions
may be edited for content and form. We will also allocate some time so that the
audience will be able to ask questions directly during the meeting.
The minutes of Agency Night will be published on the SPA website.
Tuesday, 12 December 2017
13:40 - 14:40 New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention
Center - La Nouvelle AB
The
Marcel Nicolet Lecture honors the life and work of physicist and meteorologist,
Marcel Nicolet. The Nicolet Lecture is also a part of the Bowie Lecture series,
which was inaugurated in 1989 to commemorate the 50th presentation of the
William Bowie medal, which is AGU’s highest honor and named for its first
president. Nicolet is a past recipient of the William Bowie medal.
13:50 SA23B-01 SAMI3: The
Evolution of an Ionosphere/Plasmasphere Model (Invited)
Joseph Huba,
US Naval Research Laboratory, Plasma Physics Division, Washington, DC, UNITED
STATES
The development of the Naval Research Laboratory
ionosphere/plasmasphere model SAMI3 is described. The emphasis is on the challenges
of building such a model and the decision making process in choosing the
appropriate numerical algorithms to solve the underlying first-principles
physics equations. Some of the numerical issues discussed are the numerical
grid, semi-implicit and finite volume transport schemes, and flux corrected
transport. These will be juxtaposed with the attendant scientific inquiries and
results. Some of the physics issues highlighted are the prediction of an
electron density `hole' in the topside (1500 km) equatorial ionosphere, the
regional and global modeling of equatorial spread F, metal ions in the E
region, and plasmaspheric plumes.
Wednesday, 13 December 2017
10:34 - 10:48 New Orleans
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center - R08 Andrew Stephan et al
The
Limb-Imaging Ionospheric and Thermospheric Extreme-Ultraviolet Spectrograph
(LITES) is an imaging spectrograph designed to measure altitude profiles
(150-350 km) of extreme- and far-ultraviolet airglow emissions that originate
from photochemical processes in the ionosphere and thermosphere. During the
daytime, LITES observes the bright O+ 83.4 nm emission from which
the ionospheric profile can be inferred. At night, recombination emissions at
91.1 and 135.6 nm provide a direct measure of the electron content along the
line of sight. LITES was launched and installed on the International Space
Station (ISS) in late February 2017 where it has been operating along with the
highly complementary GPS Radio Occultation and Ultraviolet Photometry –
Colocated (GROUP-C) experiment. We will present some of the first observations
from LITES in April 2017 that show longitudinal patterns in ionospheric density
and the daily variability in those patterns. LITES vertical imaging from a
vantage point near 410 km enables a particularly unique perspective on the
altitude of the ionospheric peak density at night that can complement and
inform other ground- and space-based measurements, and track the
longitude-altitude variability that is reflective of changes in equatorial electrodynamics.
14:35 - 14:48 New
Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center - R08 Katelynn Greer et al
One
of the major scientific objectives of the GOLD mission is to address the
significance of atmospheric waves and tides propagating from below on the
thermospheric temperature structure. Here we examine the modes of tides and
spectrum of waves that will be observed by GOLD in geostationary orbit. The
GOLD instrument is an imaging spectrograph that will measure the Earth’s
emissions from 132 to 162 nm. These measurements will be used to image
thermospheric temperature and composition near 160 km on the dayside disk at
half-hour time scales. TIE-GCM is used to produce a realistic model atmosphere,
where different wave and tidal components can be easily extracted, and GLobal
AirglOW (GLOW) model produces the emissions in the spectral bands observed by
GOLD.
17:47
- 18:00 New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center - R08 Astrid Maute et al
Earth’s
magnetic main field plays an important role in the thermosphere-ionosphere (TI)
system, as well as its coupling to Earth's magnetosphere. The ionosphere
consists of a weakly ionized plasma strongly influenced by the main field and
embedded in the thermosphere. Therefore, ion-neutral coupling and ionospheric
electrodynamics can influence the plasma distribution and neutral dynamics.
There are strong longitude variations of the TI storm response. At high
latitude magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling is organized by the geomagnetic main
field, leading in general to stronger northern middle latitude storm time
response in the American sector due to the geomagnetic dipole location. In
addition, the weak geomagnetic main field in the American sector leads to larger
local ExB drift and can alter the plasma densities. During geomagnetic storms
the intense energy input into the high latitude region is redistributed
globally, leading to thermospheric heating, wind circulation changes and
alterations of the ionospheric electrodynamics. The storm time changes are
measurable in the plasma density, ion drift, temperature, neutral composition,
and other parameters. All these changes depend, to some degree, on the
geomagnetic main field which changes on decadal time scales.
In
this study, we employ a forecast model of the geomagnetic main field based on
data assimilation and geodynamo modeling [Aubert et al., 2015]. The main field
model predicts that in 50 years the South Atlantic Anomaly is further weakened
by 2 mT and drifts westward by approximately 10o. The dipole axis moves northward
and westward by 2o and
6o,
respectively. Simulating the March 2015 geomagnetic storm with the
Thermosphere-Ionosphere Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIE-GCM)
driven by the Assimilative Mapping of Ionospheric Electrodynamics (AMIE), we
evaluate the thermosphere-ionosphere response using the geomagnetic main field
of 2015, 2065, and 2115. We compare the TI response for 2015 with available
satellite data, e.g. Swarm and COSMIC, and discuss the changes in the TI
response due to the predicted main field changes to identify regions of
potential increase and decrease in the storm time response.
Thursday, 14 December 2017
13:40 - 18:00 New Orleans Ernest N. Morial
Convention Center - Poster Hall D-F Brian J Harding et al
Although
it is well established that Venus and Mars both have a significant hot oxygen
geocorona, the evidence for a hot oxygen geocorona on Earth is sparse. Recent
theoretical estimates suggest the concentration of hot oxygen at the exobase is
~0.1-1% of the thermal oxygen concentration, while the observational evidence
(largely from the 1980s) suggests ~1-20%. There is also disagreement about the
effective temperature of the hot atoms (1500-6000 K). Hot oxygen is known to
affect satellite drag, ambient thermospheric temperature and circulation, and
ion temperature. We show results from a recent effort to replicate the initial
observation of the hot oxygen geocorona [Yee et al., 1980], using ground-based
observations of the shadow height variation of the 732-nm O+ emission.
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