EAGER: New Approaches to Investigating Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) Waves in Earth's Magnetosphere--Listening for Wave Structure through Sonification

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

Electromagnetic waves are ubiquitous in space and provide an important means of studying dynamics and energy transfer across space environments. While typical techniques for studying such waves rely on visual inspection or the application of automated algorithms, this team explores sonification techniques (listening to the data rather than looking at it) to better identify and study the complex wave environment in near-Earth space. Sonification has several benefits for analyzing large data sets, many of which still need to be fully realized. The focus of this proposal is very much on the new scientific knowledge to be gained by studying electromagnetic waves through sound, but potential applications to expand upon this work for citizen science projects, education, and outreach are numerous. This project also aims to broaden the pool of people included in heliophysics research (e.g., visually impaired, musicians or artists, non-STEM students, etc.) Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves, plasma emissions generated by unstable distributions of hot ions, have long been observed in Earth's magnetosphere. These waves have been shown to interact with multiple particle populations in the inner magnetosphere resonantly. They are an important loss process for ring current ions and radiation belt electrons. EMIC waves exhibit several different characteristics, and characterization of their frequency-time structure is critical for understanding wave generation mechanisms and geoeffective impacts. This proposal aims to explore the application of sonification techniques (listening to the data rather than looking at it) specifically for the identification and study of different types of EMIC waves. The team suggested to apply sonification techniques to study EMIC waves in the GOES and Van Allen Probe data sets. The application of this technique for EMIC wave study has not been made before, and there exist both targeted science questions to be answered through these studies (e.g., How often, where, and when do long duration EMIC waves occur? What is the distribution of pearl-type EMIC waves?) as well as discovery level science to be found (e.g., Are there categories or types of EMIC waves that are yet unknown?). Sonification techniques will also enable long-duration historical data sets (e.g., GOES) to be mined in a way that hasn't been possible with current visual inspection analysis approaches. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.