[SPA] SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER, Volume XXXI, Issue 21

[Newsletter Editor]

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXXI, Issue 21
Mar.31,2024

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Table of Contents

1. Community Advocacy for GDC and DYNAMIC

2. Students Lead Solar Corona Forecast for the April 8, 2024 Eclipse

3. MEETING: 2024 Software for the NASA Science Mission Directorate Workshop

4. MEETING: ISSS-15 and IPELS-16 Joint Conference in Germany, August 1-9, 2024 -- Website Open for Abstract Submission and Registration

5. MEETING: Workshop on Geomagnetically Induced Currents -- Save the Date

6. GeoDAWG Seminar Series

7. Course on “Operational Space Weather Fundamentals” -- Extended Deadline

8. CALL FOR PAPERS: "Uncertainty Quantification And Model Validation In Space Weather Modeling" in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences

9. JOB OPENING: Guest Scientist for Research Infrastructure Development at Swedish Institute of Space Physics

10. JOB OPENING: Two Open Positions at Swedish Institute of Space Physics

11. JOB OPENING; Postdoctoral Position at TU Braunschweig

12. JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Position at National Observatory of Athens (NOA), Greece

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


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Community Advocacy for GDC and DYNAMIC

From: Scott Bailey, V. Lynn Harvey (baileys at vt.edu)

Dear Heliophysics Colleagues,

In a recent town hall, NASA made the suggestion that the Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) be cancelled due to budget shortfalls in coming years. The DYNAMIC mission, that would provide our first systematic day, night and aurora wind measurements in the lower thermosphere, is also likely to be cancelled. DYNAMIC was slated to possibly share a launch with GDC though it is completely independent of GDC. The fact that GDC and DYNAMIC were both products of the last Decadal Survey and the lack of clarity on the fate of DYNAMIC suggests that DYNAMIC may be cancelled as well. These two missions were a top priority of the 2013 Decadal and are crucial to progressing our understanding of the thermosphere and ionosphere and how they are forced by both space weather and the lower atmosphere. This tremendous loss, which may yet be reversed, is due to budget limitations in the President’s Budget Request. It is imperative that we as a community appeal to congress to augment NASA’s budget in coming years to allow for both GDC and DYNAMIC. We ask each of you to reach out to your representatives and make this urgent request. 

A sample letter can be found in the link below. Please consider making this request of members of the House and Senate Appropriations committees as well. A list of representatives and their contact information can be found in the second link below.
Congress included funding for DYNAMIC and GDC in previous budgets, so they have supported them in the past. With a strong response to the potential cancellations, congressional leaders can be convinced to ensure these missions are in the final budgets. 

Thank you for supporting these crucial missions.

Scott Bailey (Virginia Tech) and V. Lynn Harvey (LASP/U. Colorado)

Sample email:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZeDT3bC5DSyGiikrXPqDaHZ0fhECFOgh/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=108901700657462344376&rtpof=true&sd=true

Members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mA8qrQpQPknm0InGjxWutXkHQ-eZpCqB/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=108901700657462344376&rtpof=true&sd=true


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Students Lead Solar Corona Forecast for the April 8, 2024 Eclipse

From: Dan Welling, Chip Manchester, Judit Szente (dwelling at umich.edu)

University of Michigan’s Climate and Space Department, in collaboration with the University of Texas at Arlington, is undertaking a special student-led project to forecast the visible aurora during the upcoming solar eclipse.

The predictions use data-assimilative advanced magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations using the U-M SWMF/AWSoM-R model incorporating the results of two independent solar flux transport models (one from Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory and the other from Predictive Science, Inc.). The results yield true forecasts of how the solar atmosphere will appear in multiple wavelengths during totality on April 8th, 2024. This work is made possible by the combined efforts of faculty at the partner R1 institutions (with UTA being a minority-serving institution) and realized by the leadership of the student team.

In addition to the corona forecasts, the student team has planned a set of in-depth public outreach and education activities occurring the week leading up to the total eclipse. A special livestream broadcast on the day of the eclipse will showcase the forecasts, make comparisons to first-look eclipse data, and interview specialists to discuss the unique experience that is a total solar eclipse.

We are proud to share the result of the students’ efforts, including the current eclipse corona forecast and details on the public outreach events: https://clasp.engin.umich.edu/solar-eclipse-2024/ An animation of the forecasted corona can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCXiv3aaZpM

The student team includes Xianyu Liu, Kathryn Wilbanks, Amy Rewoldt, Weihao Liu, Connor DiMarco, Yu Hong, and Minjing Li. Three faculty members at U-M served as mentors: Ward Manchester, Judit Szente and Dan Welling. 


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MEETING: 2024 Software for the NASA Science Mission Directorate Workshop

From: Rebecca Ringuette (rebecca.ringuette at nasa.gov)

The 2024 Software for the NASA Science Mission Directorate Workshop will be held May 7-9 both online and in-person at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Registration for virtual attendance will remain open until April 30. More information on registration, attendance, and other important details are available on the workshop website. We look forward to a productive and engaging workshop with you.

The executive and program committees.

https://science.data.nasa.gov/news/software-workshop-2024/ 

(Edited for due dates)


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MEETING: ISSS-15 and IPELS-16 Joint Conference in Germany, August 1-9, 2024 -- Website Open for Abstract Submission and Registration

From: Frank Jenko (frank.jenko at ipp.mpg.de), David Schriver (dschrive at ucla.edu),Hantao Ji (hji at pppl.gov)

We are excited to announce that registration is now open for the 15th International School/Symposium for Space Simulations (ISSS-15) plus 16th International Workshop on the Interrelationship between Plasma Experiments in the Laboratory and in Space (IPELS-16).

The School segment of ISSS-15 is scheduled for August 1-3, 2024, followed by the combined ISSS-15 and IPELS-16 Symposium, taking place from August 5-9, 2024. The entire meeting will be hosted by the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching near Munich, which is in the beautiful Bavarian region of Germany.

We are also pleased to offer student travel support for those attending ISSS-15 and IPELS-16.

For comprehensive details regarding the scientific and social program, registration, abstract submission, key deadlines, and student travel support applications, please visit our event website at:

https://plan.events.mpg.de/event/152

We eagerly look forward to seeing you in Garching this summer!


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MEETING: Workshop on Geomagnetically Induced Currents -- Save the Date

From: Daniel Welling (dwelling at umich.edu)

We are excited to announce the updated dates for the workshop on Geomagnetically Induced Currents (GIC), to be held on October 21-24, 2024. The theme of this workshop is “Growing Partnerships to Advance Research & Applications”, with the primary goal of developing a community engaged in all aspects of GIC. The workshop is designed mainly as an in-person meeting at the University of Maryland College Park with a hybrid option likely.

The workshop will be dedicated to our friend and colleague, Dr. Surjalal Sharma, who passed away in January of 2024. Dr. Sharma was a leader in the field of space physics; he was a critical driver for the formation of this workshop. A portion of the meeting will be devoted to recognizing the career and legacy of Dr. Sharma.

For more details please visit the workshop website (https://sites.google.com/terpmail.umd.edu/gic2023/home). An announcement will be made once the registration is open. Limited travel support will be available for participation in the workshop.


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GeoDAWG Seminar Series

From: Tomoko Matsuo, David Themens, Anthony Sciola, Adam Michael (adam.michael at jhuapl.edu)

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to attend the monthly seminar series of the IAGA “Geospace Data Assimilation Working Group” (GeoDAWG). GeoDAWG’s purpose is to provide a forum to aid in the discussion of data assimilative modeling methods across the geospace sciences. More information can be found on our website: https://sites.google.com/view/geodawg/home

Seminars are held virtually at 11 am Eastern Time on the first Tuesday of every month. 

The next seminar will be on April 2nd by Jeff Anderson titled “Removing the Kalman from the Ensemble Kalman Filter: Powerful New Data Assimilation Methods for Nonlinear and Non-Gaussian Applications.”

A link to join the seminar via Zoom can be found on the GeoDAWG website: https://sites.google.com/view/geodawg/seminars, along with the current GeoDAWG seminar schedule.

You can request to join our mailing list, https://sites.google.com/view/geodawg/mailing-list, if you would like to receive our regular newsletter where we share research highlights and information relevant to the community.

Speaker suggestions or questions can be also submitted online: https://sites.google.com/view/geodawg/contact-us, or you can email us directly at iaga.geodawg at gmail.com


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Course on “Operational Space Weather Fundamentals” -- Extended Deadline

From: The School Secretariat (info at astrogeofisica.it)

A Course on “Operational Space Weather Fundamentals”, directed by proff. Domenico Di Mauro (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Italy), Stefania Lepidi (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Italy), Mauro Messerotti (Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Italy), Tamitha Skov (Millersville University, USA) will be held in L’Aquila, Italy, 13-17 May, 2024. The course is organized in cooperation with the  Consorzio “Area di Ricerca in Astrogeofisica”.

The school will serve as a comprehensive introduction to the multi-faceted field of Space Weather, covering solar-heliospheric, magnetospheric, and ionospheric weather, with a specialized focus on operations and forecasting. By establishing the links from research to operations (R2O) and from operations to research (O2R) and by highlighting the effects of space weather on technological systems and society, this curriculum aims at stimulating the involvement of the next-generation researchers in this rapidly growing discipline.
Lectures on phenomenology will be complemented by laboratory activities and applications with the direct and active involvement of the attendees. Another practical aspect will be covered by the "career section" aimed at illustrating which skills are desirable for a job in the frame of space weather research and surveillance centres, and how good strategies should be used for educational and communication purposes.
This school is addressed to PhD students and young scientists in space physics, planetary sciences, aerospace engineering, or related fields. Early-career stage professionals from monitoring agencies and industries related to space weather are invited to apply as well.
Applications are due before April, 2 2024
For more information visit https://www.astrogeofisica.it/oswf/ or send an e-mail to info at astrogeofisica.it


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CALL FOR PAPERS: "Uncertainty Quantification And Model Validation In Space Weather Modeling" in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences

From: Qusai Al Shidi (qusai.alshidi at mail.wvu.edu)

The deadline for the Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences research topic 'Uncertainty Quantification And Model Validation In Space Weather Modeling' has been extended to 31st July 2024. Please consider submitting to the research topic. For a description of the topic or more information on how to submit please visit: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/56617/uncertainty-quantification-and-model-validation-in-space-weather-modeling . We welcome all kinds of articles such as original research papers, reviews, and perspectives articles. Please email Dr. Qusai Al Shidi for any further questions qusai.alshidi at mail.wvu.edu .


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JOB OPENING: Guest Scientist for Research Infrastructure Development at Swedish Institute of Space Physics

From: Johan Kero (kommunikation at irf.se)

The Swedish Institute of Space Physics is seeking a guest scientist to help us build advanced image analysis software for studies of northern lights and other phenomena in the polar atmosphere. You will be part of a team that is improving the institute's research infrastructure - a toolbox for data analysis and various information services for researchers, authorities and the general public.
For more information:
https://www.irf.se/vacancies


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JOB OPENING: Two Open Positions at Swedish Institute of Space Physics

From: Martin (kommunikation at irf.se)

Post-Doctoral Position in Space Physics
The successful candidate will be involved in national and international collaborations and will also be expected to present their results at national and international conferences and publish their results in leading journals. Expertise in solar energy deposition- and photochemical modelling will be highly beneficial.
More information - https://www.irf.se/en/about-irf/vacancies/

PhD student in Space Physics
The PhD project will focus on the analysis of extreme acceleration events associated with magnetic reconnection. The PhD student will work with state-of-the-art experimental data from the NASA multi-spacecraft Magnetospheric MultiScale (MMS) mission.

More information - https://www.irf.se/en/about-irf/vacancies/


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JOB OPENING; Postdoctoral Position at TU Braunschweig

From: Yasuhito Narita (y.narita at tu-braunschweig.de)

The Institute of Theoretical Physics of the TU Braunschweig is looking for a postdoc with strong expertise in MHD and kinetic treatments of solar-heliospheric plasmas. The postdoc is expected to study the magnetic helicity transport from the Sun to the heliosphere. Different approaches such as the observational methods, theoretical studies, and numerical simulations are highly welcome. The position is for two years with the possibility of one-year extension. The application deadline is on May 10, 2024. For more information, please visit the institute homepage:

https://www.tu-braunschweig.de/en/theophys/numerical-plasma-simulation/open-positions


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JOB OPENING: Postdoctoral Position at National Observatory of Athens (NOA), Greece

From: Athanasios Papaioannou (atpapaio at astro.noa.gr)

The National Observatory of Athens (NOA) is looking for an expert to work on the “Scientific Analysis” of very high energy particles. Positions’ code: SPEAR1. Preferably this postdoctoral position seeks for candidates with relevant experience in research projects but also recent graduates, to be included in NOA’s research activities, can apply.

This is a a fixed position for an 18-months period with a possibility for renewal for another 12 months.

For further details and how to apply: https://spearhead-he.eu/open-vacancy-at-the-institute-for-astronomy-astrophysics-space-applications-and-remote-sensing-iaasars-of-the-national-observatory-of-athens-noa/

Closing date: 11 April 2024

Start date: 01 June 2024

For further information about the position please contact: Athanasios Papaioannou (atpapaio at noa.gr)


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