[SPA] SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER, Volume XXVI, Issue 25

[Newsletter Editor]

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXVI, Issue 25
Apr.09,2019

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Table of Contents

1. SMILE Mission Adopted by ESA Committee

2. MEETING: Workshop to Help Guide the Space Weather Benchmarks Development, April 23, 2019

3. MEETING: GEM 2019 Summer Workshop - 2nd Announcement

4. 2019 IUGG Womxn’s Networking Event, July 12

5. Updates to the Hourly OMNI2 Data Set

6. NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship - Application Deadline July 1, 2019

7. NSF Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (AGS-PRF)

8. JOB OPENING: NSF/OPP/ANT Dear Colleague Letter: Program Director, Antarctic Astrophysics and Geospace Sciences 

9. JOB OPENING: Research Scientist in Space Plasma Physics

10. JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral and Guest Researcher Positions in Space Physics

11. Ph.D. Student Position at Stockholm University: MATS Satellite Mission

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Announcement Submission Website: http://goo.gl/forms/qjcm4dDr4g


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SMILE Mission Adopted by ESA Committee

From: Graziella Branduardi-Raymont, C. Philippe Escoubet and Chi Wang (philippe.escoubet at esa.int)

The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, SMILE, has been given the green light for implementation by ESA's Science Programme Committee. SMILE will explore the Sun-Earth connection in a very novel way, by mapping the solar wind - magnetosphere interactions in soft X-rays. SMILE is a joint mission by ESA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The UK, several other European countries, Canada, China as well as ESA contribute to the development of the payload.

The SMILE payload comprises four instruments: a soft X-ray imager (SXI, PI S. Sembay, University of Leicester, UK), a UV auroral imager (UVI, PI E. Donovan, University of Calgary, Canada) and an in situ measurement package composed of a light ion analyser and a magnetometer (PIs L. Dai  and L. Li, CAS/NSSC, China). SMILE will fly in a highly elliptical polar orbit with an apogee of 20 Re to image the magnetosphere and the northern aurora for more than 40 hours continuously per orbit. The launch is planned in November 2023.

For more information:
http://sci.esa.int/smile/61191-esa-gives-go-ahead-for-smile-mission-with-china/,
http://english.cssar.cas.cn/smile and 
http://mssl.ucl.ac.uk/SMILE/


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MEETING: Workshop to Help Guide the Space Weather Benchmarks Development, April 23, 2019

From: Geoff Reeves (Geoff at ReevesResearch.org)

A space weather community workshop will be held on April 23, 2019 at the Sheraton Denver West. The purpose is to gather input to help guide the development of benchmarks for extreme space weather events as called out in the The National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan. (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/National-Space-Weather-Strategy-and-Action-Plan-2019.pdf)

The workshop is free but registration is required. (http://www.cvent.com/events/registration-for-public-session-on-april-23-2019/event-summary-bc09c5c5867f4f17823d7409b0b93e46.aspx)

Written input can also be provided through our request for community input (https://www.ida.org/STPI/ExploreSTPIResearch/SpaceWeather) 
or by email: swx at ida.org  or  Geoff (at) ReevesResearch.org.

The Space Weather Phase 1 Benchmarks study provides estimates of the characteristics of extreme space weather events. Specifically, it seeks to define the 1-in-100-year and theoretical maximum events for five phenomena
• induced geo-electric fields
• ionizing radiation
• ionospheric disturbances
• solar radio bursts, and
• upper atmosphere expansion (drag).
(https://www.sworm.gov/publications/2018/Space-Weather-Phase-1-Benchmarks-Report.pdf)

We request community input to:
1) identify new research or data sets that may be used to improve the benchmark values
2) identify gaps in existing data sets and methodologies that hinder the production of high-confidence benchmark values; and
3) suggest future research activities that may close the identified gaps.

Inputs are solicited from both the space weather research and the operations/user communities. 


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MEETING: GEM 2019 Summer Workshop - 2nd Announcement

From: Chia-Lin Huang, Christopher Mouikis (chia-lin.huang at unh.edu)

The GEM 2019 summer workshop will take place on June 22-28, 2019 at the La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, NM.  

Please visit the new GEM conference website for more meeting information at:  http://gemworkshop.org

Some important dates:

  - Application deadline for student support is April 30, 2019 (Please respond promptly!)

  - Early Bird Registration Deadline: May 15, 2019

  - Deadline for poster submissions: May 31, 2019

  - Deadline for hotel reservation with discounted rate: May 28, 2019

For students who applied for financial support:
 - If you have not heard from us after filing the application, please remind your advisor to send a recommendation letter to chia-lin.huang at unh.edu
 - If you have received the acceptance letter, please call or email Umbe to make travel arrangement soon


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2019 IUGG Womxn’s Networking Event, July 12

From: Neesha Schnepf (neesha.schnepf at colorado.edu)

Join us at the 2019 IUGG in Montréal for the first-ever IUGG Womxn’s Networking Event!
Friday July 12, 7-9pm @ Les 3 Brasseurs, 103 St-Paul Est, Montréal.
RSVP here: https://forms.gle/EJB38Ws2F92LorWZ8

The goal of this event is to foster relationships and solidarity among womxn members of IUGG (womxn is a term that includes cis and trans women). 

Many of the womxn who attend the IUGG conference are the only womxn in their research group -- so conferences/workshops are critical times for them to connect with other womxn in their field. This networking event aims to strengthen the community of womxn scientists in IUGG and provide a welcoming place for womxn to network with each other at the conference. Appetizers and ample time for meeting each other will be provided. The event will also include an acknowledgement of our sponsors and a discussion of next steps to support and build community among womxn geophysicists.

The Earth Science Women's Network is co-sponsoring this event. Other co-sponsors for this event include ExxonMobil, the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), GFZ Potsdam, Green Geophysics, and Lahmont-Doherty Earth Observatory.


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Updates to the Hourly OMNI2 Data Set

From: Natalia Papitashvili, John Cooper (Natalia.E.Papitashvili at nasa.gov)

The hourly OMNI2 data set provides a nearly 55-year record of near-Earth solar wind magnetic field and plasma parameter variations, plus some geomagnetic activity indices and solar energetic particle fluxes. See http://omniweb.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ow.html.  

The OMNI2 plasma data come NOT from a continuous single source but are selected from different sources based on the data availability and quality. In the past, the highest priority for selection was given to the cleaned KP plasma parameters from the Wind spacecraft's Solar Wind Experiment (SWE) and then, secondarily, to the definitive data from the SWEPAM instrument on the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft. Since April 2019, the hourly OMNI2 database has begun using a new spacecraft source prioritization for solar wind plasma parameters. 

The new source prioritization for the period 1995 – present is now set in the following descending order: (1) SWE definitive plasma data, (2) SWE key parameter plasma data, (3) SWEPAM plasma data, and then (4) the plasma data from other sources, including IMP-8 and Geotail spacecraft. This priority reorganization gives us possibility to improve plasma data quality and to add more data records in the OMNI2 data set.

Along with the new source prioritization, we resolved the problem of disagreement between the SWE and SWEPAM Na/Np ratios by removing all SWEPAM Na/Np ratios and instead using only the SWE Na/Np ratios when available. 

More information on the upgrades described above can be found at the following URL:  https://omniweb.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/html/ow_data.html


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NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship - Application Deadline July 1, 2019

From: Taifa Simpson (tsimpson at usra.edu)

The NASA Postdoctoral Program offers US and international scientists the opportunity to advance their research while contributing to NASA's scientific goals.  The NPP supports fundamental science; explores the undiscovered; promotes intellectual growth; and encourages scientific connections.

Selected by a competitive peer-review process, NPP Fellows complete one- to three-year Fellowship appointments that advance NASA's missions in earth science, heliophysics, planetary science, astrophysics, space bioscience, aeronautics and engineering, human exploration and space operations, and astrobiology.

Current NPP research opportunities can be viewed here: https://npp.usra.edu/opportunities/

Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in hand before beginning the fellowship, but may apply while completing the degree requirements. U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, and foreign nationals eligible for J-1 status as a Research Scholar may apply.

Stipends start at $60,000 per year, with supplements for high cost-of-living areas and for certain academic specialties. Financial assistance is available for relocation and health insurance, and $10,000 per year is provided for professional travel.

Applications are accepted three times each year: March 1, July 1, and November 1.

For further information and to apply, visit: https://npp.usra.edu/

Questions: npphelp at usra.edu


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NSF Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (AGS-PRF)

From: Michael Wiltberger (mwiltber at nsf.gov)

The Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS) awards Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (PRF) to highly qualified early career investigators to carry out an independent research program. The research plan of each Fellowship must address scientific questions within the scope of AGS disciplines. The program supports researchers for a period of up to 2 years with Fellowships that can be taken to the institution of their choice. The program is intended to recognize beginning investigators of significant potential and provide them with experience in research that will broaden perspectives, facilitate interdisciplinary interactions and help establish them in leadership positions within the Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences community. Fellowships are awards to individuals, not institutions, and are administered by the Fellows.

For more details please see the full solicitation 

HTML - https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2019/nsf19574/nsf19574.htm
PDF - https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2019/nsf19574/nsf19574.pdf


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JOB OPENING: NSF/OPP/ANT Dear Colleague Letter: Program Director, Antarctic Astrophysics and Geospace Sciences 

From: Vladimir Papitashvili  (vpapita at nsf.gov)

The Antarctic Sciences Section (ANT) in the NSF/Office of Polar Programs (OPP) announces a nationwide search for a Program Director in the Antarctic Astrophysics and Geospace Sciences Program (AAGS). Formal consideration of interested applications will begin on April 15, 2019 and will continue until a selection is made.

The AAGS Program funds cutting-edge, transformative, and emerging research in astronomy and astrophysics that uses Antarctica as an observing platform or investigates the role of the Antarctic upper atmosphere in global environmental processes. The program also supports interdisciplinary studies that focus on how solar activity influences the properties and dynamics of the polar atmosphere and the global geospace system.

The AAGS Program Director is responsible for managing a dynamic, proposal-driven research grants program in these critical research areas and should have experience in astrophysical and/or geospace related science, including experience pertinent to the management challenges presented by covering the broad scope of research encompassed by the program. 

More Information is available here:
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2019/opp19001/opp19001.jsp 

NSF is an Equal Opportunity Employer.


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JOB OPENING: Research Scientist in Space Plasma Physics

From: Dr Paul Loto'aniu (paul.lotoaniu at noaa.gov)

The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder has an immediate opening for a Research Scientist in Space Plasma Physics. This position supports NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) in work related to the magnetometers (MAG) on the GOES-R mission satellites. The position is initially for one year, with up to two additional years depending on performance and availability of funding.  The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Series-R (GOES-R) is NOAA’s next generation of geostationary weather satellites, which include a complement of space weather sensors to monitor the local space environment and the Sun. Two of the GOES-R satellites have been launched and are now called GOES-16 and GOES-17.

Requirements: 
PhD in a related area. Postdoc experience preferred. US Greencard or US citizenship.

Duties Include:
Undertake scientific research that demonstrates the scientific utility of the GOES-R full 10 Hz magnetometer data along with corrected magnetometer data. The research topic is open. 
Evaluate limits to the scientific utility of the MAG data and develop and test correction algorithms as required.
Help develop long-term data trending tools to monitor MAG data quality and detect data anomaly patterns.
Participate in and sometimes travel to relevant GOES-R meetings with NASA, NOAA and vendors, as required.
Work on studies of alternate science mission concepts that can provide complimentary datasets to improve the knowledge of the magnetic field at GEO.
Write science proposals and look for funding opportunities, as required.

Contact Person: Dr. Paul Loto'aniu (paul.lotoaniu at noaa.gov)
To apply and see job description: https://jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDetail/?jobId=17179


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JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral and Guest Researcher Positions in Space Physics

From: Prof. Mats André, Dr. Stephan Buchert, Dr. Emiliya Yordanova, Dr. Andrew Dimmock (mats.andre at irfu.se)

The positions are related to studies of space plasmas

Applications are invited for post-doctoral positions in the field of fundamental space plasma physics. The studies are based on data analysis from single and multi-spacecraft observations in various plasmas from macro- to micro-scales in the Earth’s environment. In particular, the scientific objectives are investigations of fundamental plasma processes such as plasma turbulence and kinetic phenomena associated with magnetic reconnection, and energy transfer in the solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere-atmosphere-ground system.

Our team performs observations, data analysis, and modeling of space plasma processes (http://www.irfu.se). The team has decades of experience in developing and operating instruments to measure electric fields, plasma temperature, density and density fluctuations for spacecraft missions (e.g. Cluster, MMS, Swarm, Cassini, Rosetta). Experience in the analysis of space plasma data is expected, and experience in relevant theoretical modelling is an advantage. 

We are searching for a total of three persons to work on the following projects:
1) Direct observation of anomalous resistivity in collisionless plasmas, and its importance for magnetic reconnection, based on measurements of electric and magnetic fields and charged particles by the four NASA MMS satellites.
2) Energy budget of the topside ionosphere and upper thermosphere, based on observations by the three ESA Swarm satellites.
3) Investigation of the dynamics of the terrestrial magnetosheath during disturbed solar wind conditions based on multi-spacecraft observations (solar wind monitors, MMS, Themis, Cluster, Geotail), and the resulting geomagnetic responses measured by ground magnetometers (IMAGE, MIRACLE) at high latitudes.

The positions are available at the IRF Uppsala office, located at the Ångström Laboratory in Uppsala, Sweden, starting during 2019 (the exact date is negotiable). The positions are funded by grants from the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish National Space Agency for two (2) years. 

Closing date for applications is 15 Mays 2019. 

Candidates should have completed a PhD during 2014 or later. However, if the candidate has an older degree and wants to refer to special circumstances, such as parental leave, this should be clearly stated. Candidates planning to obtain their PhD degree no later than September 2019 can also apply. The candidate should not currently be an active researcher at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics or the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Uppsala University, Sweden.

For further information please contact:

Prof. Mats André, e-mail: mats.andre at irfu.se +46-18-471 59 13
Dr. Stephan Buchert, e-mail: stephan.buchert at irfu.se +46-18-471 59 28
Dr. Emiliya Yordanova, e-mail: emiliya.yordanova at irfu.se  +46-18-471 59 30
Dr. Andrew Dimmock, e-mail: andrew.dimmock at irfu.se +46-18-471 59 23

Trade union representative: 

Thomas Leyser, SACO-S, e-mail: thomas.leyser at irfu.se +46-18-471 59 41
Ashkan Ekhtiari, ST, e-mail: ashkan at irf.se +46-980-790 78

Applications should include a CV, a short letter stating the applicant’s research interests and relevant experience, copies of undergraduate and PhD degree certificates (or a letter from the supervisor stating when a PhD degree is expected), description and proof of previous post-doctoral positions and/or similar relevant research work (if available), names and contact information for two professional references and reprints of not more than four selected publications. 

Applications should be sent, preferably by email, to: registrator at irf.se
or by post to:
Swedish Institute of Space Physics,
Registrar
Box 812, 
SE-981 28 Kiruna, Sweden

Please quote reference number: 2.2.1-111/19

Last Application Date 2019-05-15

If your application is sent by e-mail you should get a confirmation that we have received it. If you do not get the confirmation within three days, please contact the registrar: +46 980-790 00


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Ph.D. Student Position at Stockholm University: MATS Satellite Mission

From: Jörg Gumbel (gumbel at misu.su.se)

A Ph.D. student position in Atmospheric Science and Oceanography is available at the Department of Meteorology at Stockholm University. We invite applicants who are interested in joining our team working on the MATS satellite mission. Please find information about the application procedure under

https://www.su.se/english/about/working-at-su/phd?rmpage=job&rmjob=8612&rmlang=UK

After five years of preparation, the new Swedish research satellite MATS will be launched in December 2019. We are now looking for a Ph.D. student who wants to join our team and explore the scientific outcome of this mission. The central goal of the MATS project is to better understand atmospheric dynamics at altitudes around 80-100 km. In many ways, this altitude range constitutes a transition region between the atmosphere and "outer space". An important focus of MATS is on gravity waves and other dynamical features that strongly control the state and the variability of this part of the atmosphere. An innovative approach of the project is to apply tomography to optical measurements, which allows us to analyse wave structures in atmospheric temperature and composition on spatial scales from tens to thousands of kilometres. 

After the launch of MATS, an exciting period of scientific analysis will start in close collaboration with research groups at Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg and the Royal Institute in Stockholm, the Swedish National Space Agency, and an international science team. Within this Ph.D. project, you will be one of the first to work with the dataset. An important task is to infer basic gravity wave parameters from the wave climatology that MATS will provide. Based on this, various research directions can be defined, depending on your specific interests. Important questions concern the local influence of waves on atmospheric dynamics, temperature or clouds. Deeper insights into wave dynamics can be obtained from analysing the interaction of waves of different scales, generation of secondary waves etc. Important research topics also concern global wave-driven coupling processes, relating MATS results to the state of the lower atmosphere (troposphere, stratosphere) or upper atmosphere (thermosphere, ionosphere). A useful starting point for this Ph.D. project is good knowledge in atmospheric dynamics and atmospheric remote sensing.


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SPA Newsletter Editorial Team: Peter Chi (Editor), Guan Le (Co-Editor), Sharon Uy, Marjorie Sowmendran, Todd King, and Kevin Addison

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