[GEM] THE GEM MESSENGER, Volume 28, Number 27

Wed Jun 13 18:21:50 PDT 2018

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     THE GEM MESSENGER
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Volume 28, Number 27
Jun.13,2018

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

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Table of Contents

1. GEM 2018 Workshop: “Interhemispheric Approaches to Understand M-I Coupling (IHMIC)” Focus Group Sessions - Call for Presentations

2. DMSP SSIES-2 Database Transferred from University of Texas at Dallas to MIT Haystack Madrigal System

3. ESA Research Fellowships in Space Science

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1. GEM 2018 Workshop: “Interhemispheric Approaches to Understand M-I Coupling (IHMIC)” Focus Group Sessions - Call for Presentations
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From: Hyomin Kim, Robert Lysak, Tomoko Matsuo (hmkim at njit.edu)

We invite you to participate in our new GEM focus group session, “Interhemispheric Approaches to Understand M-I Coupling (IHMIC)”. The main goal of this focus group proposal is to understand the interhemispheric symmetry/asymmetry in geomagnetic fields and its effects on M-I coupling. Observational and modeling studies have shown the interhemispheric differences which are manifested in various signatures, e.g., large-scale current systems, auroral forms, waves, ion upflow, outflow, particle precipitation, high-latitude convection and thermospheric winds.  

The focus group addresses questions as to how to incorporate interhemispheric differences and their effects on M-I coupling in observations and modeling/simulations. The overarching science questions that this focus group will be addressing are:

1)  In what aspect does the asymmetry in geomagnetic fields play a role in M-I coupling?
2)  How are the interhemispheric differences related to solar wind and geomagnetic activities?
3)  What are interhemispheric differences in storm and substorm signatures, wave activity and particle precipitation? What controls these differences?
4)  How do interhemispheric differences in ionospheric conductivity affect solar wind coupling to the magnetosphere, ionosphere and thermosphere? 
5)  What are effects of the neutral wind dynamo in the application of Ohm's law to ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling?  Does the neutral wind dynamo contribute to the interhemispheric asymmetry in M-I coupling? 

There will be two sessions on Friday (June 22). Please note that the afternoon session is a joint session with the focus group “3D Ionospheric Electrodynamics and its impact on MIT coupling (IEMIT)”. 

Friday 10:30-12:00 IHMIC FG session

Friday 1:30-3:00 IEMIT-IHMIC Joint FG Session

This year, we are encouraging more discussion and discouraging AGU-style presentations, limiting each talk to 3-4 slides focused on results and outstanding questions. If you are interested in presenting interhemispheric studies, please use this signup form:
https://goo.gl/forms/YFCcZi1Qxi74fRi93

Please also note that there will be GEM-CEDAR joint sessions on Saturday (June 23). The second session from 10:30 to 12:00 will cover “Interhemispheric Processes/Symmetries/Asymmetries”.

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2. DMSP SSIES-2 Database Transferred from University of Texas at Dallas to MIT Haystack Madrigal System
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From: Marc Hairston (hairston at utdallas.edu)

Since 2003, the University of Texas at Dallas has provided a public website to distribute thermal plasma parameters from the SSIES-2 instrument packages on several of the DMSP spacecraft, specifically F11 through F15. These data consist of three-dimensional ion flow velocities, ion density, ion and electron temperatures, plasma composition, and quality flags. The server hosting this website at UTD has been retired, and therefore we have migrated all these data to the NSF supported Madrigal distributed database system at MIT Haystack Observatory to make them more easily accessible to the community. Madrigal now hosts all the single orbit summary data plots generated by the old website, along with all the data and quality flags that were available on the old website.  

The work has also provided a large upgrade in the amount of measurements available to the community.  Previously, because of budget limitations, data available on the UTD website was limited to time periods prior to 1 January 2006.  However, as part of the transfer effort, the Madrigal database now hosts all SSIES-2 data past that date for DMSP F11 through F15 platforms.  The expanded SSIES-2 dataset covers the period from 1992 through the present for a total of over sixty satellite-years of data, although we note that DMSP F15 is the only current operational satellite in this particular data set.  

To access this data, go to “cedar.openmadrigal.org” and select “Access Data” -> “List Experiments” -> “Satellite Instruments”-> “Defense Meteorological Satellite Program”.  Note that this will produce a list of experiment files that include both the newly available UTD SSIES-2 database (labeled as “UT DMSP with quality flags”) and also the previously available Level 1 DMSP data (all other files), provided by Boston College to the Madrigal distributed database system.

Support for formatting and the large UTD SSIES-2 database transfer for the space science community use has been provided at UT Dallas by NSF grant AGS-1663763 and at MIT Haystack Observatory by NSF Cooperative Agreement AGS-1242204 to the Millstone Hill Geospace Facility.  For any questions about these data and about the new Madrigal hosting of the database, please contact Marc Hairston (UTD) at hairston at utdallas.edu or Bill Rideout (MIT Haystack) at brideout at mit.edu.

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3. ESA Research Fellowships in Space Science
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From: Oliver Jennrich (fellowship at cosmos.esa.int)

The European Space Agency awards several postdoctoral fellowships each year.

The aim of these fellowships is to provide scientists in their early career, holding a PhD or the equivalent degree, with the means of performing research in fields related to the ESA Science Programme. 

Areas of research include planetary science, astronomy and astrophysics, solar and solar-terrestrial science, plasma physics and fundamental physics. The fellowships have a duration of two years, with the possible extension to three years, and are tenable at the  European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, Netherlands, or at the European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC) in Villafranca del Castillo, near Madrid, Spain.

Applications are now solicited for fellowships in space science to begin in the fall of 2019. Preference will be given to applications submitted by candidates in an early stage of their career. Candidates not holding a PhD yet are encouraged to apply, but they must provide evidence of receiving their degree before starting the fellowship.

ESA fellows are enrolled in ESA's Social Security Scheme, which covers medical expenses. A monthly deduction covers these short-term and long-term risks.

The deadline for applications is 1 October 2018.

More information on the ESA Research Fellowship programme in Space Science, on the conditions and eligibility, as well as the application form can retrieved from http://cosmos.esa.int/fellowship

Questions on the scientific aspects of the ESA Fellowship in Space Science not answered in the above pages can be sent by e-mail to the fellowship coordinators, Dr. Oliver Jennrich or Dr. Bruno Altieri at the address fellowship at cosmos.esa.int

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