[GEM] THE GEM MESSENGER, Volume 26, Number 45

[Newsletter Editor]

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     THE GEM MESSENGER
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Volume 26, Number 45
Nov.04,2016

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Table of Contents

1. Call for Proposals for New GEM Focus Groups - Deadline Dec 5!

2. GEM Meeting Coordinator Search - Deadline Nov 28

3. CEDAR/GEM Session Report: Exosphere influence on Geospace

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1. Call for Proposals for New GEM Focus Groups - Deadline Dec 5!
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From: GEM Steering Commitee (wiltbemj at ucar.edu)

The GEM Steering Committee (SC) is now accepting proposals for new Focus Groups (FGs). This call is open until December 5th. Please follow the proposal guidelines in the GEM by-laws: http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/GEM_Bylaws 

The proposals should be no more than 4 pages in length, organized under the following headings, and in the following order: 

1) Topic (a description of the topic) 
2) Timeliness (a statement on timeliness of the proposed FG) 
3) Fit (how does the FG would relate to existing FGs... e.g., compliment?, duplicate?) 
4) Goas l& Deliverable (specific goal and target deliverable*) 
5) Co-chairs (names of the proposed co-chairs) 
6) Research Area (the Research Area with which it will be associated) 
7) Term (5 years or less from summer 2014) 
8) Expected activities (for example topics of sessions or challenges) 

*Deliverables can be GGCM modules, empirical relations that lead to modules, solutions to specific science problems, challenges, data sets for validation and metrics, or paper collections. 

The nine active FGs, organized according to research area, are as follows... 

SWMI -Solar Wind - Magnetosphere Interaction Research Area 
(Coordinators: Katariina Nykyri and Steve Petrinec) 
- Tail Environment and dynamics at lunar distances (ends 2019)
- Dayside Kinetic Processes in Global Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Interaction (ends 2020) 

MPS - Magnetotail and Plasma Sheet Research Area 
(Coordinators: Andrei Runov and Matina Gkioulidou) 
- Testing Proposed links between mesoscale auroral and polar cap dynamics (ends 2019) 

IMAG - Inner Magnetosphere Research Area 
(Coordinators: Scott Elkington and Seth Claudepierre) 
- Inner Magnetosphere Cross-Energy/Population Interactions (ends 2018) 
- Quantitative Assessment of Radiation Belt Modeling (ends 2018) 

MIC - Magnetosphere - Ionosphere Coupling Research Area 
(Coordinators: Marc Lessard and Shin Ohtani) 
- Storm-time Inner Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Convection FG (ends 2017)
- Merged Modeling & Measurement of Injection Ionospheric Plasma into the Magnetosphere (M3I2) and Its Effects (ends 2020) 

GSM - Global System Modeling Research Area 
(Coordinators: Frank Tofoletto and Alex Glocer) 
- Magnetic Reconnection in the Magnetosphere FG (ends 2017) 
- Geospace System Science FG (ends 2018)
- ULF wave Modeling, Effects, and Applications (ends 2020)
- Modeling Methods and Validation (ends 2020)

More details about the existing FGs are available on the GEM website:http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/GEM_Focus_Groups 

Please keep in mind that on one hand we want to have active FGs operating under the umbrella of each Research Area, but there is no upper limit to the number within a research area. The GEM SC will consider all proposals received before the submission deadline. 

The FG proposals will be posted on the GEM Wiki website before the GEM Mini-Workshop. There will be a late-afternoon session at the Mini- Workshop at which the FG proposals will be presented and discussed in a forum open to the entire GEM community. The SC will then meet after the mini-workshop sessions to decide which proposals will be selected to become new GEM Focus Groups. If you are proposing a FG, then please plan to give a 5-minute presentation in this session. 

Please send FG proposals to the GEM Steering Committee Chair-elect Jacob Bortnik (jbortnik at atmos.ucla.edu).  Do not send the FG proposals to the current chair since he will be out of email contact around the submission deadline.  Questions should be directed to the SC Chair or to the specific Research Area Coordinator for your topic. The list of RA coordinators is available at http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/Organization_and_People.


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2. GEM Meeting Coordinator Search - Deadline Nov 28
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From: Michael Wiltberger (wiltbemj at ucar.edu)

A reminder of the search for a new GEM meeting coordinator.  The letters of interest in this position are due on November 28th.  Since the GEM chair will have limited email contact after November 24th please send your letters to both Mike Wiltberger (wiltbemj at ucar.edu) and Jacob Bortnik (bortnik at atmos.ucla.edu).  

The GEM meeting coordinator plays an important role in ensuring that our community has a successful meeting each year. The current grant for running the meeting expires in 2018 and while that may seem a long time in the future we are currently working on getting the location of the 2018 meeting finalized. This means that it is time starting search for a meeting coordinator.

As mentioned, the main role of the meeting coordinator is to work with the steering committee to run the annual GEM meeting. Key responsibilities include; proposing for and managing the award from NSF for the meeting support; soliciting bids from hotels, resorts, managing the contracts for meetings, and coordinating the travel for students supported by the grant to attend the meeting. We expect strong communication between the GEM chair and meeting coordinator, complete transparency and the ability to independently research, negotiate and secure conference venues on behalf of the GEM steering committee in a timely manner. In past, meeting coordinators have found it helpful to have strong administrative support in order to handle these tasks. The meeting coordinator automatically becomes a full voting member of the GEM steering committee and has a voice in setting the strategic direction of GEM.

Anyone interested in serving, as the meeting coordinator should prepare a short, 1 page maximum, statement of his or her qualifications and interest in the position. It should include their plan for managing the key responsibilities, vision for working with the steering committee and a rough estimate of costs. Based on these statements of interest, the GEM Steering Committee will select and appoint the meeting coordinator for the next 5-year period. Final instatement of the meeting coordinator rests with the NSF, and is accomplished through an award from the GEM program for managing the annual meeting. 

Any questions about the position can be directed to SC chair Mike Wiltberger (wiltbemj at ucar.edu) or Vice-Chair Jacob Bortnik (bortnik at atmos.ucla.edu)


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3. CEDAR/GEM Session Report: Exosphere influence on Geospace
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From: Jonathan Krall (krall at ppd.nrl.navy.mil)

Session Title: What is the composition of the exosphere and how does it influence the topside ionosphere and plasmasphere? 
Conveners: J. Krall (NRL), A. G. Burns (HAO), S. E. McDonald (NRL), J. T. Emmert (NRL), F. Sassi (NRL)

Additional contributors: Ed Mierkiewicz (Embry-Riddle), Rodney Viereck (NOAA) , Robert Schunk (Utah State University), Daniel Weimer (Virginia Tech), Jianqi Qin (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Richard Denton (Dartmouth College), Raluca Ilie (University of Michigan), Alex Glocer (NASA/GSFC), Susan M. Nossal (University of Wisconsin), John Noto (Scientific Solutions, Inc.)

Oxygen and hydrogen densities in the thermosphere and exosphere can affect the polar wind composition [Schunk], the strength of the magnetospheric ring current [Illie, Glocer] and the rate of  plasmasphere refilling following a storm [Krall]. The O density varies daily by up to 20% [Krall] while the H density appears to be increasing as a result of climate change [Nossal]. This latter fact reminds us that current empirical H models have uncertainties and assumptions that should perhaps be re-examined [Burns]. While H is difficult to measure [Mierkiewicz, Viereck, Qin, Noto], limb scans from  the GUVI (Global Ultraviolet Imager) instrument on the TIMED satellite are promising [Qin].

A full report can be found at
http://cedarweb.vsp.ucar.edu/wiki/index.php/2016_Workshop:Exosphere_impacts_on_the_plasmasphere
http://cedarweb.vsp.ucar.edu/wiki/index.php/File:Cedar_gem_2016_exosphere_report.pdf


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