[SPA] SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER, Volume XXIII, Issue 32

[Newsletter Editor]

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXIII, Issue 32
Jun.21,2016

Editor: Peter Chi
Co-Editor: Guan Le
Distribution Support: Sharon Uy, Marjorie Sowmendran, Todd King, Kevin Addison
E-mail: editor at igpp.ucla.edu

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Table of Contents

1. Reminder to Attend the CEDAR/GEM LWS TR&T Draft Topics Town Hall

2. Maha Ashour-Abdalla Memorial, Friday, September 9, 2016 at UCLA

3. MEETING: Workshop Without Walls: Exoplanetary Space Weather, Climate and Habitability, November 29 - December 2, 2016

4. SESSION: SHINE Working Group Session - Flux-Rope CMEs: Predicting Bz

5. NPP with NAI/NExSS in Exoplanetary Magnetosphere-Thermosphere Modeling

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Reminder to Attend the CEDAR/GEM LWS TR&T Draft Topics Town Hall

From: Eftyhia Zesta and Mark Linton (eftyhia.zesta at nasa.gov)

Dear Colleagues,

This is a quick reminder that the LWS TR&T draft topics for the ROSES 2017 announcement have been posted in our website 
http://lwstrt.gsfc.nasa.gov/2017DraftTopicsForComments 

with input boxes for comments and feedback on each individual topic, as well as on the overall process. The comment period will remain open until July 18 (the Monday following the SHINE meeting).

The topics will be presented as a poster and in a LWS TR&T town hall discussion during the CEDAR/GEM meeting (town hall at 9:45am June 23) to expose them to as much community input as possible.

Please attend the CEDAR/GEM town hall session and visit the poster.

Sincerely,

Eftyhia Zesta, co-chair
Mark Linton, co-chair
On behalf of the LWS TR&T Steering Committee


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Maha Ashour-Abdalla Memorial, Friday, September 9, 2016 at UCLA

From: Jean Berchem, Mostafa El-Alaoui, Robert Richard, David Schriver, and Ray Walker (jberchem at ucla.edu)

Our colleague and friend Maha Ashour-Abdalla will be remembered at a memorial on Friday, September 9, 2016. The event will begin around 4:00 PM at the UCLA Faculty Center and will be followed by a reception hosted by the UCLA College of Letters and Science.  Please save the date. Further information will be announced.


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MEETING: Workshop Without Walls: Exoplanetary Space Weather, Climate and Habitability, November 29 - December 2, 2016

From: Vladimir Airapetian (vladimir.airapetian at nasa.gov)

NExSS/NAI International Workshop Without Walls - November 29th – December 2nd, 2016 

New Orleans, LA, and other virtual locations (TBD)

Workshop Link at https://nexss.info/community/workshops/workshop-without-walls-exoplanetary-space-weather-climate-and-habitability

Science Organizing Committee:
Chair: Vladimir Airapetian (NASA GSFC), Co-Chair: William Danchi (GSFC); Masha Kuznetsova (NASA/GSFC); Alan Title (LMATC); Carolus Schrijver (LMATC); Gary Zank (University of Huntsville); Anthony DelGenio (NASA/GISS); Shawn Domagal-Goldman (GSFC); Rory Barnes (University of Washington, USA); Paul Mahaffy (GSFC); Kazunari Shibata (University of Kyoto); Sara Gibson (HAO); Jeffery Linsky (University of Colorado); Aki Roberge (NASA/GSFC); Steve Desch (ASU); Natalie Batalha (NASA Ames); Norman Sleep (Stanford University); Bruce Jakosky (University of Colorado); Kensei Kobayashi (Yokohama National University)

Key themes include:
. Space Weather on the Sun and Stars: What drives SW from the Sun and K-M main sequence stars.
. Erosion of (Exo)pPlanetary Atmospheres: What are the impacts of SW on atmospheric erosion and surfaces of planetary bodies including the loss of water and their evolution in time from early Earth, Mars and terrestrial type exoplanets? What are the dominant sources of SW affected atmospheric loss from the current Earth and Mars?
. Atmospheric Chemistry and Biosignatures: What are the effects of SW on chemical atmospheric evolution, on planetary climates, and the size of BZs of the young Sun and exoplanetary host stars? Can we specify atmospheric biosignatures affected by SW from Sun/cool stars?

The major output of the workshop will be to develop three white papers (one per science topic) aimed at specifying a conceptual framework for the ways forward in theoretical modeling, laboratory chemical experiments, and in situ and remote observations of bio-signatures of life affected by SW. The outcome of such an interdisciplinary approach will become crucial in defining the candidates for habitable planets for upcoming exoplanetary missions including TESS, JWST, LUVOIR, and missions to other solar system planets and bodies.


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SESSION: SHINE Working Group Session - Flux-Rope CMEs: Predicting Bz

From: Pete Riley (pete at predsci.com)

Session Title: Flux-Rope CMEs - Predicting Bz

Convenors: Pete Riley and Chris Russell

Description: An accurate prediction of the interplanetary magnetic field, and, in particular, its z-component (Bz) is a crucial capability for any space weather forecasting system, and yet, thus far, it has remained largely elusive (a point exemplified by the fact that no prediction center currently provides a forecast for Bz). In this working group session, we will discuss: (1) Various physical processes that can produce non-zero values of Bz; (2) Candidate approaches (both statistical and mechanistic) that may ultimately lead to reliable forecasts of Bz; and (3) Possible limitations and intrinsic uncertainties in its estimate. Additionally, we will discuss predictions of other solar wind parameters, particularly the bulk plasma speed. The session will be discussion-oriented, but we encourage participants to bring (or send in advance) any slides necessary to make their points.   The objectives will be to: (1) Assess our current state of predictive capabilities; (2) Identify potentially useful approaches that can be investigated during the upcoming year; and (3) Foster collaborations amongst attendees to work on this topic.


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NPP with NAI/NExSS in Exoplanetary Magnetosphere-Thermosphere Modeling

From: Vladimir Airapetian (vladimir.airapetian at nasa.gov)

NExSS Group 1: Mission to Young Earth 2.0

Opportunity ID	19027
Opportunity URL	https://npp.usra.edu/opportunities/details/?ro=19027
Center	Nexus for Exoplanet System Science
Location	location of advisor
Field of Science	Interdisciplinary/Other
Advisor	Vladimir Airapetian, Primary Advisor
301-286-4014
vladimir.airapetian at nasa.gov

Alex Glocer
301-286-9475
alex.glocer-1 at nasa.gov

Citizenship Requirement	U.S. Citizens Accepted 
Lawful Permanent Residents Accepted
Foreign Nationals Accepted
Description	
This is a broad program of interdisciplinary theoretical research related to the physics, chemistry and the coupling between upper and lower atmospheres of early Earth, Mars and exoplanets. The post doctoral researcher will work with the PI (Airapetian) of “Mission to Young Earth 2.0” and Co-I Glocer of “Living, Breathing Planet” (PI: Moore) to enhance collaboration across these teams within NExSS.

Multidimensional hydrodynamic and kinetic models with enhanced chemistry representative of atmospheres of early terrestrial planets will be used to study the rates of atmospheric escape of neutral and ionized atmospheric species driven space weather from the young Sun. X-ray and Extreme Ultraviolet (XUV) flux from the young Sun was enhanced by a factor of 10-50 and critical in setting the neutral temperature, chemistry at the exobase and driving ionospheric outflows at high rates that can affect planetary habitability. Other factors affecting the rate of escape include soft electron precipitation due to magnetospheric storms from the young Sun and Joule heating associated with high dynamic pressure from the paleo solar wind and coronal mass ejections. The models developed for early Earth and Mars will be extended to terrestrial type exoplanets to characterize evolution of their atmospheres and effects on climate and habitability.

The Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS), https://nexss.info/, is a NASA research coordination network dedicated to the study of planetary habitability. The goals of NExSS are to investigate the diversity of exoplanets and to learn how their history, geology, and climate interact to create the conditions for life. NExSS investigators also strive to put planets into an architectural context -- as solar systems built over the eons through dynamical processes and sculpted by stars. Based on our understanding of our own solar system and habitable planet Earth, researchers in the network aim to identify where habitable niches are most likely to occur, which planets are most likely to be habitable. Leveraging current NASA investments in research and missions, NExSS will accelerate the discovery and characterization of other potentially life-bearing worlds in the galaxy, using a systems science approach.

See the add at https://npp.usra.edu/opportunities/?filter_keywords=&filter_centers=NExSS for NExSS Group 1


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