Development and Dissemination of a Global Magnetosphere-Ionosphere-Thermosphere Circulation Model

University Of New Hampshire, Durham NH

Investigators

Abstract

The investigators will continue development of a coupled global magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere circulation model and to make it accessible to the scientific community. The model will be expanded to include an adaptive mesh and will be made more robust and user friendly. Extensive testing, model-data comparisons, and establishing baseline metrics of the model's performance will be an integral part of the development effort. The model results will be made available to the scientific community via the Internet, and runs on demand will be executed for selected events. Data analysis and visualization tools are also provided to make optimal use of the model. The project also includes the acquisition, installation, and maintenance of a new Beowulf computer cluster at UCLA. The model will be used to study the space weather effects resulting from disturbances in the solar wind. This is important for improving the ability to mitigate the potential hazards on technical systems on earth due to solar disturbances.