[GEM] THE GEM MESSENGER, Volume 27, Number 56

Tue Nov 28 08:06:43 PST 2017

***************************
     THE GEM MESSENGER
***************************

Volume 27, Number 56
Nov.28,2017

Announcement submission website: http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gem/messenger_form/

============================================================
Table of Contents

1. 2017 Mini-GEM Sessions: Quantitative Assessment of Radiation Belt Modeling Focus Group

2. JGR Special Section on Dayside Magnetosphere Interactions

3. First Announcement and Call to Register Interest for 1-day Workshop Supported by the Royal Astronomical Society

4. Jack Eddy Postdoctoral Fellowships

============================================================

------------------------------------------------------------
1. 2017 Mini-GEM Sessions: Quantitative Assessment of Radiation Belt Modeling Focus Group
------------------------------------------------------------
From: Weichao Tu, Wen Li, Jay Albert, Steve Morley (wetu at mail.wvu.edu)

The Quantitative Assessment of Radiation Belt Modeling Focus Group will hold two sessions at the Mini-GEM workshop in New Orleans on December 10, immediately before the Fall AGU Meeting.

Session 1:   General Session for Radiation Belt Modeling and Quantitative Assessment
Time:        13:50-15:20 PM, Sunday, December 10, 2017
Location:    Azalea, Hilton Garden Inn New Orleans Convention Center

In this session, we solicit short presentations on radiation belt modeling and its quantitative assessment, as well as physical processes potentially important in radiation belt modeling (such as various magnetospheric waves, seed electron population, plasma density, magnetic field configuration etc.).

Session 2:   'RB dropout' and 'RB buildup' Challenge
Time:        15:30-17:00 PM, Sunday, December 10, 2017
Location:    Azalea, Hilton Garden Inn New Orleans Convention Center

This session will focus on the four "challenge" events that have been selected by the community:
#1. Stormtime Enhancement: 2013-03-17/00 UT to 2013-03-19/00 UT
#2. Stormtime Dropout: 2013-05-31/00 UT to 2013-06-03/00 UT
#3. Non-storm Enhancement: 2013-09-19/00 UT to 2013-09-21/00 UT
#4. Non-storm Dropout: 2013-09-23/00 UT to 2013-09-26/00 UT

We encourage presentations on the radiation belt modeling results of these events as well as quantitatively evaluating the role of various physical processes in the radiation belt enhancements and dropouts. The overview of our challenge events, the currently available data files (DLL, EMIC and magnetosonic wave activity, chorus and hiss diffusion matrix, plasma density, etc.), and the README files for instructions can be found at: http://bit.ly/28UnLpw. 

If you'd like to speak in our sessions, please send your talk title and the session number to Weichao Tu (wetu at mail.wvu.edu) by Wednesday, Dec 6th 2017. We also encourage you to attend and participate in the discussions. Hope you will join us! More information on the focus group can be found at http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki/index.php/FG:_Quantitative_Assessment_of_Radiation_Belt_Modeling.

------------------------------------------------------------
2. JGR Special Section on Dayside Magnetosphere Interactions
------------------------------------------------------------
From: Qiugang Zong, Philippe Escoubet, David Sibeck, Guan Le, Hui Zhang (qgzong at pku.edu.cn)

Submission deadline: January 5, 2018
Special collection title: Dayside Magnetosphere Interactions
Special section organizers: Qiugang Zong, Philippe Escoubet, David Sibeck, Guan Le, Hui Zhang

Manuscripts are invited for a special section that focuses on Dayside Magnetosphere Interactions. This special collection will address the processes by which solar wind mass, momentum, and energy enter the magnetosphere. Regions of interest include the foreshock, bow shock, magnetosheath, magnetopause, and cusps, the dayside magnetosphere, and both the dayside polar and equatorial ionosphere. Results from spacecraft observations (e.g., MMS, Cluster, Geotail, THEMIS, and Van Allen Probes), ground-based observations (all-sky camera, radar, and magnetometer), MHD, hybrid and PIC simulations are all welcome. Parallel processes occur at other planets are also solicited. Many of the collected papers will be based on presentations at a recent AGU Chapman conference held in Chengdu, China, in July 2017. Papers relevant to the scope but not presented at the conference are also solicited.

Manuscripts are to be submitted through the AGU's submission system (GEMS) for JGR: Space Physics (https://jgr-spacephysics-submit.agu.org). The manuscript type will be a Research Article.  When authors submit a manuscript, they must select the correct special collection designation. If authors do not see the correct special collection in the list, please contact journal staff.

------------------------------------------------------------
3. First Announcement and Call to Register Interest for 1-day Workshop Supported by the Royal Astronomical Society
------------------------------------------------------------
From: Robert Shore (robore at bas.ac.uk)

We are pleased to announce a 1-day workshop “System-Scale Data Analysis to Resolve Thermospheric Joule Heating”, to be held at the British Antarctic Survey (Cambridge, UK) on Friday the 27th April 2017.

The aim of this workshop is to give a forum for discussing of the interdisciplinary utility of data-driven analytical techniques, and the best ways to harness the potential of the available large datasets which are driving advances in near-Earth space research.  The specific focus of the workshop is on the intrinsically interdisciplinary problem of resolving Joule heating – the transfer of energy from electrical currents in the ionosphere to the neutral particles of the upper atmosphere.

This event depends upon your support: register interest here and save the date: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/system-scale-data-analysis-to-resolve-thermospheric-joule-heating-tickets-40057339581
Note that financial support is available for attending postgraduate students.  Abstract submission will open in early 2018.

To enjoy the benefits of an improved description of Joule heating and to improve predictions of its impact, we must understand its components – ionospheric electric field, conductivity and current flow – and the solar, magnetospheric and thermospheric factors which drive them.  These improvements require systems-level (global) analyses, spanning the complex and strongly coupled solar-terrestrial environment. The increasing availability of large ground-based and satellite datasets, such as AMPERE, SuperDARN and SuperMAG which span multiple years (even multiple solar cycles) with often excellent geographic coverage provides an unprecedented set of complementary observations to achieve this.

Analytical techniques from the disciplines of statistics, machine learning and information theory are driving new discoveries of spatiotemporal trends and interdependencies in solar-terrestrial system phenomena. We see a need to communicate the use of these techniques to the solar-terrestrial community.  We aim to foster discussion on new and existing techniques which provide state-of-the-art descriptions of the Joule heating, its causative electrodynamic components, and the associated thermospheric response. In particular, we seek out approaches which exploit all available data, rather than focusing on single instruments, epochs, or phenomena. Contributions which improve the understanding of coupling between systems and thus improve the nowcasting, forecasting or hindcasting of Joule heating phenomena are especially welcome.

Conveners: Robert Shore, Anasuya Aruliah, John Coxon, Elizabeth Tindale.
For more information please contact Rob Shore at robore at bas.ac.uk.

Kind regards,
Rob (on behalf of the conveners)

------------------------------------------------------------
4. Jack Eddy Postdoctoral Fellowships
------------------------------------------------------------
From: Susanne Demaree (cpaess-apply at ucar.edu)

2018 Jack Eddy Postdoctoral Fellowships

Application deadline: 12 January 2018

The Cooperative Programs for the Advancement of Earth System Science (CPAESS) announces the 2018 call for applications to the Jack Eddy Postdoctoral Fellowships, sponsored by the NASA Living With a Star (LWS) program. The fellowships are designed to train the next generation of researchers in the emerging field of Heliophysics.

Heliophysics embraces all science aspects of the Sun-Solar System, and includes many of the basic physical processes found in our solar system, the laboratory, and throughout the universe. These processes generally involve the interactions of ionized gases (plasmas) with gravitational and electro-magnetic (both radiation and DC) fields, and with neutral matter. The physical domain of interest ranges from deep inside the Sun to the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Within this broad science
discipline, LWS is a program designed to develop the scientific understanding required for the Nation to address effectively those aspects of the Sun-Earth system that affect life and society.

Two major topics of focus for LWS are the science of space weather and of the Sun-climate connection. Preference will be given to applicants whose proposed research addresses one of these two foci; but any research program relevant to LWS is considered.

Since the goal of this postdoctoral program is to train Sun-Earth system researchers, preference is also given to research projects that cross the traditional Heliophysics subdomains of the Sun, heliosphere, magnetosphere, and ionosphere/upper atmosphere, as well as Sun-climate investigations. Therefore, proposals addressing the LWS program that are interdisciplinary are encouraged.

In order to succeed at such cross-disciplinary research, the host mentoring scientist plays a critical role. Consequently, applicants must select a host scientist, who is different from the candidate’s PhD advisor (preferably at a different institution), and coordinate a joint application with the potential host scientist and institution.

Potential host scientists are required to submit a letter of intent, curriculum vita, and mentoring plan as part of the selection process. Hosts are expected to mentor the fellow, provide a reasonable office environment, which may include a workstation, and any other unique research costs.

Applicants to this postdoctoral program are expected to have had a PhD for no more than three years at the start of tenure. A UCAR steering committee selects the fellows.

Jack Eddy fellows are UCAR employees and receive a fixed annual salary plus UCAR’s benefits (health and dental insurance, paid time off, paid holidays, TIAA retirement fund, and life insurance). A lump sum relocation allowance and an allowance for travel during the appointment are provided. The deadline for applications is 12 January 2018. Appointments will be announced in March.

For additional information on this program and instructions on how to apply, please visit the Jack Eddy webpage:

 - heliophysics.ucar.edu

For further information, call (303) 497-1605 or email cpaess-apply at ucar.edu.

NASA Living With a Star, Heliophysics Division sponsors this program. The University Corporation for
Atmospheric Research is an EE/AAE who values and encourages diversity in the workplace.

========================================
The Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) program is sponsored by the Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS) of the National Science Foundation (NSF).

To broadcast announcements to the GEM community, please fill out the online request form at:

http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gem/messenger_form/

To subscribe to the newsletter, please go to the web page at:
http://lists.igpp.ucla.edu/mailman/listinfo/gem
(IMPORTANT: Do not use this web page to post announcements.)

For any other questions, please contact Peter Chi, GEM Communications Coordinator, at <pchi at igpp.ucla.edu>

URL of GEM Home Page:  http://aten.igpp.ucla.edu/gemwiki
Workshop Information:  http://www.cpe.vt.edu/gem/index.html
========================================