[SPA] SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER, Volume XXVIII, Issue 17

[Newsletter Editor]

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXVIII, Issue 17
Mar.31,2021

***********************************************************************

Table of Contents

1. Helio 2050 ITM “Pre-work” Discussions Starting This Thursday April 2

2. MEETING: First Annual Parker Solar Probe Conference, June 14-18, 2021, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Laurel, Maryland, USA -- Second Announcement

3. Summer School plus Conference on “Mathematics for Nonstationary Signals,and applications in Geophysics and other fields” - L'Aquila (Italy) and Online, July 2021 -- Second Call

4. JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral or Senior Research Positions, Space Physics Group, Princeton University Department of Astrophysical Sciences

5. JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Researcher for Space Weather Projects at the Finnish Meteorological Institute

6. JOB OPENING: Postdoc and Doctoral Student Positions in Ionospheric Physics and Machine Learning

7. PhD Opportunities (3.5 Years, Fully-funded) Within the Solar and Space Physics Research Group at Northumbria University (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK). Deadline: 28th April 2021

8. RHESSI Nuggets in March 2021

***********************************************************************

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


1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Helio 2050 ITM “Pre-work” Discussions Starting This Thursday April 2

From: Doug Rowland (douglas.e.rowland at nasa.gov)

Dear Colleagues,

To augment the impact of the Heliophysics 2050 Workshop (May 3-7) on the community’s pre-decadal preparation, NASA is supporting additional opportunities for community coordination.

1. Pre-Workshop, NASA is encouraging preparatory discussions so that the In-Workshop discussions are as productive as possible.

2. Post-Workshop, NASA is encouraging follow-on discussions that can take threads that arise at the Workshop and further develop them as part of decadal survey white paper preparation.

A pre-workshop group to discuss ITM science topics is now meeting weekly, in the lead up to Helio2050. There is an expectation that the group will have follow-on meetings post-Helio2050 through the Decadal Survey white paper submission process.

Topic lists:
* Low-latitude and equatorial ITM (Forcing from above and below): April 1st 2 pm EST
* Mid- to high-latitude ITM (Forcing from above and below)
* Cross-latitude and multi-scale interaction
* Mesosphere-lower thermosphere coupling
* System sciences for ITM
* Model development, data assimilation and machine learning

In order to participate (meetings are via Zoom, editing a shared google document), please register at the following Google form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDF3Yr36Ht6muFavtpMUsVBOK8OJCwmTN12c5bK_8roBAjew/viewform

If you have any questions, please contact Shasha Zou (shashaz at umich.edu ) and Doug Rowland (douglas.e.rowland at nasa.gov).


2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2

MEETING: First Annual Parker Solar Probe Conference, June 14-18, 2021, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Laurel, Maryland, USA -- Second Announcement

From: Nour E. Raouafi, Bob DeMajistre, Rob Decker (rob.decker at jhuapl.edu)

MEETING: First Annual Parker Solar Probe Conference (http://parkerseries.jhuapl.edu/), June 14-18, 2021, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Laurel, Maryland, USA -- Second Announcement

NASA Parker Solar Probe mission, which launched on August 12, 2018, has completed seven of its 24 scheduled orbits about the Sun, flying as close as 20.3 Rsun from the Sun’s center. On February 20, 2021, the spacecraft will fly by Venus for the fourth time since launch. This maneuver will reduce perihelion to 15.97 Rsun. The main science objectives of the PSP mission are to: (1) Trace the flow of energy that heats and accelerates the solar corona and solar wind; (2) Determine the structure and dynamics of the plasma and magnetic fields at the sources of the solar wind; and (3) Explore mechanisms that accelerate and transport energetic particles.

Data from the first five orbits have been released to the public. The data returned so far is a treasure trove that holds potential for breakthrough discoveries. Parker Solar Probe is crossing new boundaries of space exploration.

The inaugural Parker Solar Probe Conference will be held from June 14-18, 2021, at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. The meeting will highlight discoveries from Parker Solar Probe's first two and half years of operations.

The conference is open to the entire heliophysics community. Abstracts involving relevant theory, simulations, data analysis, and coordinated observations are encouraged. There will be space for both oral and poster presentations, as well as splinter sessions.

This is not a NASA-sponsored conference and registration in NCTS is not required.

COVID-19 Considerations: A hybrid conference (partial in-person presence and virtual attendance) is being considered. A decision on in-person attendance at the conference will be made in mid-April 2021, based on the COVID-19 pandemic situation. If it appears that the health risk is likely to remain high by mid-2021, the conference will be fully virtual. Registered attendees will receive an email with additional details.

Invited Talks:
L. Matteini (Imperial College, London)
V. Reville (IRAP CNRS)
J. Szalay (Princeton Univ.)
P. Testa (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics)
L. Glesener (Univ. Minnesota)
A. Vourlidas (Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.)
S. Curry (Univ. California, Berkeley)
N. Viall (Goddard Space flight Center)
C. Cohen (California Institute of Technology)
J. Halekas (Univ. Iowa)

Important dates:
Registration Opens: February 15, 2021
Registration Deadline: June 1, 2021
Abstract Submission Opens: February 15, 2021
Abstract Deadline: April 15, 2021
Poster Submission Deadline: June 7, 2021

For further information, visit: http://parkerseries.jhuapl.edu/


3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3

Summer School plus Conference on “Mathematics for Nonstationary Signals,and applications in Geophysics and other fields” - L'Aquila (Italy) and Online, July 2021 -- Second Call

From: Mirko Piersanti (mirko.piersanti at roma2.infn.it)

A Summer School plus Conference on “Mathematics for NonstationarySignals and applications in Geophysics and other fields”, will take placeat the Dipartimento di Scienze Umane of the Università degli Studi dell'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy, July 19-24, 2021.

The event will be hybrid, providing the opportunity to everyone to join either in-person or virtually.

During the Summer School young researchers and PhD students will have a chance to learn and deepen their knowledge on Mathematics of Signal Processing, in particular on new data analysis tools/techniques for non-stationary time series and their theoretical foundation.

The summer school will take place during the first 4 days and it will consist of three courses of 8 hours each.

Lecturers:
Patrick Flandrin - ENS Lyon
Yang Wang - HKSTU
Hau-tieng Wu - Duke University

At the end of the school there will be a 2 days and half conference during which the speakers will show both the applications of these techniques to real life data and present the current frontiers of the theoretical research.

Some slots for contributed talks are still available, as well as for posters presentation. Contributed talks will be 30 minutes long (25+5 for questions). Submission deadline is April 30, 2021.

Applications for prospective students of the Summer School, as well as speakers of the conference are now open.

Financial support is available for a limited number of participants.

For more information and to apply please visit www.cicone.com/NoSAG21.html

Best regards,
The local organizing committee

Antonio Cicone - DISIM - Università degli Studi dell'Aquila - L'Aquila
Giulia D'Angelo - INAF - Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali - Roma
Mirko Piersanti - INAF - IAPS - Roma
Enza Pellegrino - DIIIE - Università degli Studi dell'Aquila - L'Aquila
Angela Stallone - INGV - Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia - Roma 


4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4

JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral or Senior Research Positions, Space Physics Group, Princeton University Department of Astrophysical Sciences

From: Dan White  (spacephysics at princeton.edu)

The Space Physics Group (see https://spacephysics.princeton.edu/) in the Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, anticipates offering one or more postdoctoral or more senior research positions in the observational study of Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) and Energetic Neutral Atoms (ENAs).

The Space Physics Group researches many aspects of space physics (aka Heliophysics), with a strong emphasis on experimental and observational space plasma physics. The Group currently leads NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (PSP) Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (ISʘIS) energetic particle instrument suite.  The Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission, and the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission, which will launch in 2025 to explore the details of particle acceleration and the Sun’s interaction with the local interstellar medium.

The successful candidate(s) will play a significant role in the analysis and publication of SEP observations from ISʘIS and ENA observations from IBEX and must have both significant prior experiences analyzing at least one of these type(s) of particle data, as well as the proven ability to lead and participate in the rapid development and publication of numerous excellent research articles. A Ph.D. is required in physics, astrophysics, space science, or a closely related field.

Interested persons must apply online at https://puwebp.princeton.edu/AcadHire/apply/application.xhtml?listingId=17501, Selecting Space Physics as the position you are interested in. 
For further inquiries, contact spacephysics at princeton.edu 


5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5

JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Researcher for Space Weather Projects at the Finnish Meteorological Institute

From: Ari Viljanen (ari.viljanen at fmi.fi)

The Space Weather Group of the Space Research and Observation Technologies Unit at the Finnish Meteorological Institute is looking for an enthusiastic and motivated postdoctoral researcher for space weather projects. In particular, we are looking for a candidate with expertise on solar-terrestrial physics. The job will be primarily related to the project "Preparing for the most extreme space weather" funded by the Academy of Finland. The focus is to study intense space storm events, which can have adverse effects on ground-based technology. A concrete task is to model geomagnetically induced currents in power grids based on simulated magnetospheric-ionospheric data available, for example, at the Community Coordinated Modeling Center. The job provides also a possibility to perform analysis of extreme events based on measured geomagnetic and other relevant data. In addition to scientific work, we expect the candidate to publish the results in scientific journals and to give presentations in international conferences.

Qualifications
- PhD degree or equivalent in a suitable field (also applicants near completion of the degree will be considered).
- Strong programming skills (e.g., Python).
- Good spoken and written English language skills.

Other desirable qualifications are
- Proven track-record on writing scientific publications.
- Previous experience on working with measured or simulated space weather data.
- Previous experience on modelling of geomagnetic induction.

The position will be located in Helsinki, Finland. The position is temporary employment. The contract is for two years, and will begin as agreed, but preferentially by 1st of August 2021.

For more details and to apply, please see: https://www.valtiolle.fi/en-US/vacancy?id=31-64-2021

For questions, please contact Dr. Ari Viljanen (ari.viljanen at fmi.fi) with a copy to Dr. Kirsti Kauristie (kirsti.kauristie at fmi.fi).


6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6

JOB OPENING: Postdoc and Doctoral Student Positions in Ionospheric Physics and Machine Learning

From: Thomas Ulich (thomas.ulich at sgo.fi)

Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory in Finland is now looking for

A Postdoctoral Researcher and a Doctoral Student.                         

The project “Ionospheric Situational Awareness” (ISaw) will combine ionospheric physics and machine learning/machine vision techniques to create a catalogue of ionograms, images of the ionospheric structure produced by so-called ionosondes, or vertical ionospheric sounders. The catalogue will facilitate studies of past space-weather events and serve as a basis for rapid analysis of new measurement. The results will be validated against ionospheric measurements of the EISCAT incoherent scatter radars and other ionospheric measurements.

Description of the positions

• The Postdoctoral Researcher will familiarise themselves with the operations and data analysis of the Sodankylä ionosonde. They will use machine vision / machine learning techniques to characterise and describe ionograms for cataloguing. They will develop algorithms and tools for interpreting ionograms. They will compare the data of the EISCAT radars at Tromsø with those of the EISCAT ionosonde. The postdoctoral researcher will participate in the further development of the instrument. They are expected to participate in the supervision of the PhD researcher. Mobility visits to Norway and Sweden are planned.

• The Doctoral Student will familiarise themselves with the operations and data analysis of the Sodankylä Ionosonde. They will use ionosonde data to study ionospheric phenomena such as fast ionospheric oscillations, atmospheric gravity waves, geomagnetic pulsations, sporadic E layers, and decay mechanisms of meteor trails. With the establishment of the ionogram catalogue, also statistical and climatological studies of the ionosphere will be carried out. The PhD researcher will also supervise and manage the digitisation of SGO’s archive of ionograms and assist in the processing of the images for cataloguing. Mobility visits to Norway and Sweden are planned.

Deadline: 11th April 2021, 23:59 (Finnish local time).

More information and application form: http://rekry.saima.fi/certiahome/open_job_view.html?did=5600&lang=en&id=000010972&jc=1


7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7

PhD Opportunities (3.5 Years, Fully-funded) Within the Solar and Space Physics Research Group at Northumbria University (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK). Deadline: 28th April 2021

From: James McLaughlin (james.a.mclaughlin at northumbria.ac.uk)

The Solar and Space Physics research group at Northumbria University (Newcastle upon Tyne, UK) is inviting applications for full-time PhD studentships for an October 2021 or March 2022 start.

These are 3.5 year studentships and are funded by a STFC Doctoral Training Partnership.

This year, we are offering PhDs on the following topics:

•	Plasma thermodynamics of the inner heliosphere with Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe
principal supervisor: Dr Robert Wicks
https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=131335

•	Determining global plasma waves in Earth's magnetosphere from ground observations
principal supervisor: Dr Sarah Bentley
https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=131337

•	What makes geomagnetic storms so special?
principal supervisor: Professor Jonathan Rae
https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=131333

•	Exploring fundamental MagnetoHydroDynamic (MHD) properties of solar chromospheric magnetic fields, via a unique observation of a large-scale swirl and associated magnetic null point
principal supervisor: Dr Eamon Scullion
https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=131334

•	Modelling an X-class solar flare combining observations, electron beam transport physics and MHD numerical simulations
principal supervisor: Dr Gert Botha
https://www.findaphd.com/search/ProjectDetails.aspx?PJID=131336

Full details can be found at: https://sites.google.com/view/solarphysicsnu/research/phd-projects-2021  

For informal questions, please contact the relevant supervisor, and/or contact Professor James McLaughlin james.a.mclaughlin at northumbria.ac.uk 

Deadline for applications: 28th April 2021

Start Date: 1st October 2021 or 1st March 2022

Overview of the research group
The Solar and Space Physics group is a large and successful group, and our long-term research programme is to understand all aspects of the solar-terrestrial connection. Evidence of the group’s success includes funding from STFC, NERC, Leverhulme Trust, Royal Astronomical Society, the US Air Force, and a UKRI Future Leader Fellow. The group also plays multiple roles in the UKRI SWIMMR (Space Weather Instrumentation, Measurement, Modelling and Risk) programme in support of the UK Met Office.


8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8

RHESSI Nuggets in March 2021

From: Hugh Hudson (hugh.hudson at glasgow.ac.uk)

http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/~tohban/wiki/index.php/RHESSI_Science_Nuggets

No. 402, “FLUKA as a tool for interpreting flare gamma-rays,” by Alec MacKinnon. The nuclear phyics of solar flares captured in a detailed model.

No. 403, “The Neupert Effect revisited,” by Jiong Qiu. Two time scales for heating individual flare strands.

No. 404, “The superflare SOL2017-09-06,” by Guillermo Giménez de Castro. Glimpsing the “missing decades” of the flare emission spectrum.

No. 405, “Tracing the sources of gradual solar energetic particle events,” by David Brooks and Stephanie Yardley. Chemical abundances in SEPs suggest an origin in flare-related moss regions.

No. 25, “Return currents and soft-hard-soft spectral evolution,” by Valentna Zharkova and Mykola Gordovskyy. A classic Nugget revisited.

We welcome contributions to the RHESSI Nuggets, and the topics may wander some distance away from specifically RHESSI results if they are generally interesting. See http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/~tohban/wiki/index.php/RHESSI_Science_Nuggets for these and others. Comments about specific flares can often be found by searching for their SOLyyyy-mm-dd identifier from this home page.


***** SUBSCRIPTION AND ANNOUNCEMENT REQUESTS *****

The AGU Space Physics and Aeronomy (SPA) Section Newsletter is issued approximately weekly. Back issues are available at:
http://lists.igpp.ucla.edu/pipermail/spa/

To request announcements for distribution by the newsletter, please use the online submission form at:
http://goo.gl/forms/qjcm4dDr4g

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

NOTE: Due to the large number of SPA-related sessions at major conferences, the SPA Newsletter can no longer accept announcement requests for individual sessions at AGU, AOGS, COSPAR, EGU, or IAGA Meetings. Titles and web links (if available) of these sessions will be distributed in a special issue of the Newsletter before the abstract deadline.

SPA Web Site: http://spa.agu.org/

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

*************** END OF NEWSLETTER ****************