The polar cap can become teardrop shaped through the poleward expansion of the dusk and dawn sectors of the auroral oval, to form what is called horse collar aurora (HCA). The formation of HCA has been linked to dual-lobe reconnection (DLR) where magnetic flux is closed at the dayside magnetopause. A prolonged period of northward IMF is required for the formation of HCA. HCA have previously been identified in UV images captured by the Special Sensor Ultraviolet Spectrographic Imager (SSUSI) instrument on-board the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft F16, F17 and F18. Events that have concurrent 630.0 nm all-sky camera (ASC) data from the Redline Geospace Observatory (REGO) Resolute Bay site are now studied in more detail, making use of the higher cadence of the ASC images compared to DMSP/SSUSI. 11 HCA events are studied and classified based on the IMF conditions at the end of the event. Five of the events were found to end via a southward turning of the IMF, two end with positive By dominated IMF and four with negative By dominance. Under positive (negative) By the arcs move duskward (dawnward) in the northern hemisphere with the opposite true in the southern hemisphere. Under a southward turning the arcs move equatorward. One event is of particular interest as it occurred while there was a transpolar arc (TPA) also present. Understanding the evolution of HCA will allow DLR to be studied in more detail.

We built an integrated nonlinear analysis software -INA- designed to study space plasma turbulence and intermittency. The MATLAB programming environment was used for the algorithmic development and implementation of methods for spectral analysis, multiscale fluctuations and multifractal analysis. The performance of INA is demonstrated using magnetic field measurements from the Cluster 3 spacecraft during an inbound pass through the Earth’s magnetosheath region. We show how specific features of the power spectral density (PSD) can be mapped to localised time-frequency regions in the spectrogram representation, and identify multiple intermittent events using the wavelet-based local intermittency measure (LIM). Multiscale probability density functions (PDFs) showed clear departures from Gaussianity, signifying the presence of intermittency. Structure functions (SFs) and rank-ordered multifractal analysis (ROMA) revealed the multifractal nature of the analysed signal. INA is freely distributed as a standalone executable file to any interested user, and provides an integrated, interactive, and user-friendly environment in which one can import a dataset, customize key analysis parameters, apply multiple methods on the same signal and then export high-quality, publication-ready figures. These are only a few of the many distinguishing features of INA.

Solar Energetic Protons (SEPs) have been shown to contribute significantly to the inner zone trapped proton population for energies < 100 MeV and L > 1.3 (Selesnick et al., 2007). The Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope (REPT) on the Van Allen Probes launched 30 August 2012 observed a double-peaked (in L) inner zone population throughout the 7-year lifetime of the mission. It has been proposed that a strong SEP event accompanied by a CME-shock in early March 2012 provided the SEP source for the higher L trapped proton population, which then diffused radially inward to be observed by REPT at L ~ 2. Here, we follow trajectories of SEP protons launched isotropically from a sphere at 7 Re in 15s cadence fields from an LFM-RCM global MHD simulation driven by measured upstream solar wind parameters. The timescale of the interplanetary shock arrival is captured, launching a magnetosonic impulse propagating azimuthally along the dawn and dusk flanks inside the magnetosphere, shown previously to produce SEP trapping. The MHD-test particle simulation uses GOES proton energy spectra to weight the initial radial profile required for the radial diffusion calculation over the following two years. GOES proton measurements also provide a dynamic outer boundary condition for radial diffusion. A direct comparison with REPT measurements 20 months following the trapping event in March 2012 provides good agreement with this novel combination of short-term and long-term evolution of the newly trapped protons.

Models of the high-latitude ionospheric electric field are commonly used to specify the magnetospheric forcing in thermosphere or whole atmosphere models. The use of decades-old models based on spacecraft data is still widespread. Currently the Heelis and Weimer climatology models are most commonly used but it is possible a more recent electric field model could improve forecasting functionality. Modern electric field models, derived from radar data, have been developed to incorporate advances in data availability. It is expected that climatologies based on this larger and up-to-date dataset will better represent the high latitude ionosphere and improve forecasting abilities. An example of two such models, which have been developed using line-of-sight velocity measurements from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) are the Thomas and Shepherd model (TS18), and the Time-Variable Ionospheric Electric Field model (TiVIE). Here we compare the outputs of these electric field models during the September 2017 storm, covering a range of solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) conditions. We explore the relationships between the IMF conditions and the model output parameters such as transpolar voltage, the polar cap size and the lower latitude boundary of convection. We find that the electric potential and field parameters from the spacecraft-based models have a significantly higher magnitude than the SuperDARN-based models. We discuss the similarities and differences in topology and magnitude for each model.

The propagating muons deposit their energies in the volume-of-interest (VOI) within the tomographic configurations, and this energy loss directly indicates that there is a difference in terms of the kinetic energy between the incoming muons and the the outgoing muons. In this study, by using the GEANT4 simulations, we first elaborate this energy difference over the nuclear waste barrels that contain cobalt, strontium, caesium, uranium, and plutonium. We show that the deposited energy through these VOIs is not negligible for the initial energy bins. Then, we suggest a correction factor for the image reconstruction codes where the initial kinetic energy of the entering muons is coarsely predicted in accordance with the deflection angle through the hodoscope sections, thereby renormalizing the deflection angle in the bottom hodoscope depending on the intrinsic properties of the corresponding VOIs. This correction factor encompasses useful information about the target volume traversed by the muons since it is related to the intrinsic features of the VOI. Therefore, it might be utilized in order to complement the scattering information as an input to the image reconstruction.

We present in-depth analysis of three southward-moving meso-scale (ion- to magnetohydrodynamic-scale) flux transfer events (FTEs) and subsequent crossing of a reconnecting electron-scale current sheet (ECS), which were observed on 8 December 2015 by the Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft near the subsolar magnetopause under southward and duskward magnetosheath magnetic field conditions. Our aims are to understand the generation mechanism of ion-scale magnetic flux ropes (ISFRs) and to reveal causal relationship among magnetic structures of the ECS, electromagnetic energy conversion, and kinetic processes in magnetic reconnection layers. Magnetic field reconstruction methods show that a flux rope with a length of about one ion inertial length existed and was growing in the ECS, supporting the idea that ISFRs can be generated from secondary magnetic reconnection in ECS. Grad-Shafranov reconstruction applied to the three FTEs shows that the FTE flux ropes had axial orientations similar to that of the ISFR in the ECS. This suggests that these FTEs also formed through the same secondary reconnection process, rather than multiple X-line reconnection at spatially separated locations. Four-spacecraft observations of electron pitch-angle distributions and energy conversion rate suggest that the ISFR had three-dimensional magnetic topology and secondary reconnection was patchy or bursty. Previously reported positive and negative values of , with magnitudes much larger than expected for typical magnetopause reconnection, were seen in both magnetosheath and magnetospheric separatrix regions of the ISFR. Many of them coexisted with bi-directional electron beams and intense electric field fluctuations around the electron gyrofrequency, consistent with their origin in separatrix activities.

A NASA sponsored study conducted at John Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab culminated in a community-inspired heliospheric mission concept called the Interstellar Probe (ISP). The ISP’s science goals include understanding our habitable astrosphere by investigating its interactions with the interstellar medium, and determining the structure, composition, and variability of its constituents. A suite of instruments were proposed to achieve these and other science objectives. The instruments include a Lyman-a spectrograph for velocity-resolved measurements of neutral H atoms. The capability to address key components of the ISP’s science objectives by utilizing high spectral resolution Lyman-a measurements are described in this presentation. These findings have been submitted as a community White Paper to the recent Heliophysics decadal survey.

Jupiter’ magnetic field is tilted by ~10º; with respect to the planet’s spin axis, and as a result the Jovian plasma sheet passes over the Galilean satellites at the jovigraphic equator twice per planetary rotation period. The plasma and magnetic field conditions near Ganymede’s magnetosphere therefore change dramatically every ~5 hours, creating a unique magnetosphere-magnetosphere interaction, and on longer time scales as evidenced by orbit-to-orbit variations. In this paper we summarize the typical magnetic field conditions and their variability near Ganymede’s orbit as observed by the Galileo and Juno spacecraft. We fit Juno data from orbit 34, which included the spacecraft’s close Ganymede flyby in June 2021, to a current sheet model and show that the magnetospheric conditions during orbit 34 were very close to the historical average. Our results allow us to infer the upstream conditions at the time of the Juno Ganymede flyby.

This editorial aims to improve awareness of the current best practices in open research, and stimulate discussion on the practical implementation of AGU's data and software policy in key areas of space weather research. We also further aim to encourage authors to take additional steps to ensure clear credit to all contributors to the work, whether that is underlying data, key software, or direct contributions to the manuscript.

Space weather phenomena occur from the Sun to the Earth with damaging impacts on ground-based and space-borne technological infrastructure. The geomagnetic auroral electrojet indices, AU, AL, and AE, have been widely used for monitoring space weather and geomagnetic activities during space storms and substorms. The time series data of solar wind monitored by upstream satellite and ground-based auroral electrojet indices form the input-output system characterizing the dynamic coupling among solar wind, Earth’s magnetosphere, and ionosphere. The data-driven predictions of auroral electrojet indices during geomagnetic storms and substorms face the challenges of capturing the variations of ionospheric electrojet current driven by multiple solar wind variables and are modeled as a coupled complex system with finite and variable memory. The recurrent neural network (RNN) based Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) machine learning algorithm is well suited to classify, process, and make predictions of the coupled solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere system by preserving important information from earlier parts of the coupled time series and carrying it forward. In this study, an RNN-based LSTM model has been built to predict the time series of AE/AL indices with multi-variate solar wind inputs. Both 5-minute and hourly long-term time series data from the NASA OMNI database were used to drive the LSTM model. The coupled time series data are divided into training and testing datasets. The Root-Mean-Square-Error (RMSE) between the predicted and actual AE/AL indices of the testing sets was used to evaluate the roles of the number of layers in the LSTM, memory length of the coupled system, prediction time, and different combinations of solar wind input parameters (magnetic field, velocity, and density). The performance of the LSTM model in predicting AL/AE indices during major geomagnetic storm and substorm events is analyzed. The differences and challenges of applying LSTM to predict 5-min and hourly AE/AL indices are also discussed.

As a rule, the phase velocity of unstable Farley-Buneman waves is found not to exceed the ion-acoustic speed, cs. However, there are known exceptions: under strong electric field conditions, much faster Doppler shifts than expected cs values are sometimes observed with coherent radars at high latitudes. These Doppler shifts are associated with narrow spectral width situations. To find out how much faster than cs these Doppler shifts might be, we developed a proper cs model as a function of altitude and electric field strength based on ion frictional heating and on a recently developed empirical model of the electron temperature under strong electric field conditions. Motivated by the ‘narrow fast’ observations, we then explored how ion drifts in the upper part of the unstable region could add to the Doppler shift observed with coherent radars. While there can be no ion drift contribution for the most unstable modes, and therefore no difference with cs for such modes, under strong electric field conditions, a large ion drift contribution of either sign needs to be added to the Doppler shift of more weakly unstable modes, turning them into ‘fast-‘ or ‘slow-’ narrow spectra. Particularly between 110 and 115 km, the ion drift can alter the Doppler shift of the more weakly unstable modes by several 100 m/s, to the point that their largest phase velocities could approach the ambient E x B drift itself.

Extreme solar particle events (ESPEs) are rare and the most potent known processes of solar eruptive activity. During ESPEs, a vast amount of cosmogenic isotopes (CIs) 10Be, 36Cl and 14C can be produced in the Earth’s atmosphere. Accordingly, CI measurements in natural archives allow us to evaluate particle fluxes during ESPEs. In this work, we present a new method of ESPE fluence (integral flux) reconstruction based on state-of-the-art modeling advances, allowing to fit together different CI data within one model. We represent the ESPE fluence as an ensemble of scaled fluence reconstructions for ground-level enhancement (GLE) events registered by the neutron monitor network since 1956 coupled with satellite and ionospheric measurements data. Reconstructed ESPE fluences appear softer in its spectral shape than earlier estimates, leading to significantly higher estimates of the low-energy (E<100 MeV) fluence. This makes ESPEs even more dangerous for modern technological systems than previously believed. Reconstructed ESPE fluences are fitted with a modified Band function, which eases the use of obtained results in different applications.

The interaction of Io with the co-rotating magnetosphere of Jupiter is known to produce Alfven wings that couple the moon to Jupiter's ionosphere. We present first results from a new numerical model to describe the propagation of these Alfven waves in this system. The model is cast in magnetic dipole coordinates and includes a dense plasma torus that is centered around the centrifugal equator. Results are presented for two density models, showing the dependence of the interaction on the magnetospheric density. Model results are presented for the case when Io is near the centrifugal and magnetic equators as well as when Io is at its northernmost magnetic latitude. The effect of the conductance of Jupiter's ionosphere is considered, showing that a long auroral footprint tail is favored by high Pedersen conductance in the ionosphere. The current patterns in these cases show a U-shaped footprint due to the generation of field-aligned current on the Jupiter-facing and Jupiter-opposed sides of Io, which may be related to the structure in the auroral footprint seen in the infrared by Juno. A model for the development of parallel electric fields is introduced, indicating that the main auroral footprints of Io can generate parallel potentials of up to 100 kV.

We show the global dynamics of spatial cross-correlation of Pc2 wave activity can track the evolution of the 2015 St. Patrick’s Day geomagnetic storm for an 8 hour time window around onset. The global spatially coherent response is tracked by forming a dynamical network from 1 second data using the full set of 100+ ground-based magnetometer stations collated by SuperMAG and Intermagnet. The pattern of spatial coherence is then captured by a few network parameters which in turn track the evolution of the storm. At onset IMF B_z>0 and Pc2 power increases, we find a global response with stations being correlated over both local and global distances. Following onset, whilst B_z>0, the network response is confined to the day-side. When IMF B_z<0, there is a strong local response at high latitudes, consistent with the onset of polar cap convection driven by day-side reconnection. The spatially coherent response as revealed by the network grows and is maximal when both SME and SMR peak, consistent with an active electrojet and ring-current. Throughout the storm there is a coherent response both in stations located along lines of constant geomagnetic longitude, between hemispheres, and across magnetic local time. The network does not simply track the average Pc2 wave power, however is characterized by network parameters which track the evolution of the storm. This is a first study to parameterize global Pc2 wave correlation and offers the possibility of statistical studies across multiple events to detailed comparison with, and validation of, space weather models.

A document by Michael Lockwood. Click on the document to view its contents.

NASA’s Van Allen Probes observed significant, long-lived fluxes of inner belt electrons up to ~1MeV after geomagnetic storms in March and June 2015. Reanalysis of MagEIS data with improved background correction showed a clearer picture of the relativistic electron population that persisted through 2016 and into 2017 above the Fennel et al. (2015) limit. The intensity and duration of these enhancements allow estimation of decay timescales for comparison with simulated decay rates and theoretical lifetimes. We compare decay timescales from these data and DREAM3D simulations based on them using geomagnetic activity-dependent pitch angle diffusion coefficients derived from plasmapause-indexed wave data (Malaspina et al., 2016, 2018) and phase space densities derived from MagEIS observations. Simulated decay rates match observed decay rates more closely than the theoretical lifetime due to significantly nonequilibrium pitch angle distributions in simulation and data. We conclude that nonequilibrium effects, rather than a missing diffusion or loss process, account for observed short decay rates.

We use a 20 year database of Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) observations to investigate the two component model of ionospheric convection. A convection pattern is included in the database if it is derived from at least 250 radar vectors and has a distribution of electric potential consistent with Dungey-cycle twin vortex flow (a negative potential peak in the dusk cell and a positive potential peak in the dawn cell). We extract the locations of the foci of the convection cells from the SuperDARN convection patterns, and compare their dependencies on the north-south component of the interplanetary magnetic field, IMF Bz, and the auroral electrojet index, AL. We define a quantity, dMLT, as the hour angle between the dawn and dusk convection cell foci, which we use as a proxy for the extent to which the dayside or nightside component of the convection pattern is dominating. We find that at a fixed level of AL, dMLT decreases with increasingly negative IMF Bz, consistent with an increasing dominance of dayside reconnection. We also find that at a fixed level of IMF Bz, dMLT increases with increasingly negative AL, consistent with an increasing dominance of nightside reconnection, but only up to modest values of AL (to ~ −200 nT). As AL becomes further enhanced dMLT decreases again, which we attribute to an inherent dependence of AL on IMF Bz.

Electron temperature anisotropy-driven instabilities such as the electron firehose instability (EFI) are especially significant in space collisionless plasmas, where collisions are so scarce that wave-particle interactions are the leading mechanisms in the isotropization of the distribution function and energy transfer. Observational statistical studies provided convincing evidence in favor of the EFI constraining the electron distribution function and limiting the electron temperature anisotropy. Magnetic reconnection is characterized by regions of enhanced temperature anisotropy that could drive instabilities – including the electron firehose instability – affecting the particle dynamics and the energy conversion. However, in situ observations of the fluctuations generated by the EFI are still lacking and the interplay between magnetic reconnection and EFI is still largely unknown. In this study, we use high-resolution in situ measurements by the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft to identify and investigate EFI fluctuations in the magnetic reconnection exhaust in the Earth’s magnetotail. We find that the wave properties of the observed fluctuations largely agree with theoretical predictions of the non-propagating EF mode. These findings are further supported by comparison with the linear kinetic dispersion relation. Our results demonstrate that the magnetic reconnection outflow can be the seedbed of EFI and provide the first direct in situ observations of EFI-generated fluctuations.

On December 04, 2021, a total solar eclipse occurred over west Antarctica. Nearly an hour beforehand, a geomagnetic substorm onset was observed in the northern hemisphere. Eclipses are suggested to influence magnetosphere-ionosphere (MI) coupling dynamics by altering the conductivity structure of the ionosphere by reducing photoionization. This sudden and dramatic change in conductivity is not only likely to alter global MI coupling, but it may also introduce a variety of localized instabilities that appear in both hemispheres. Global navigation satellite system (GNSS) based observations of the total electron content (TEC) in the southern high latitude ionosphere during the December 2021 eclipse show signs of wave activity coincident with the eclipse peak totality. Ground magnetic observations in the same region show similar activity, and our analysis suggest that these observations are due to an “eclipse effect” rather than the prior substorm. We present the first multi-point interhemispheric study of a total south polar eclipse with local TEC observational context in support of this conclusion.

Ionospheric convection patterns from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network are used to determine the trajectories, transit times and decay rates of three polar cap patches from their creation in the dayside polar cap ionosphere to their end of life on the nightside. The first two polar cap patches were created within 12 minutes of each other and travelled through the dayside convection throat, before entering the nightside auroral oval after 104 and 92 minutes, respectively. When the patches approached the nightside auroral oval, an intensification in the poleward auroral boundary occurred close to their exit point, followed by a decrease in the transit velocity. The airglow decay rates of patches 1 and 2 were found to be ≈0.6% and ≈0.9% per minute, respectively. The third patch decayed completely within the polar cap and had a lifetime of only 78 minutes. After a change in drift direction, patch 3 had a radar backscatter power half-life of 4.23 minutes, which reduced to 1.80 minutes after a stagnation, indicating a variable decay rate. 28 minutes after the change in direction, and 16 minutes after stagnation, patch 3 completely disintegrated. We relate this rapid decay to increased frictional heating, which speeds up the recombination rate. Therefore, we suggest that the stagnation of a polar cap patch is a main determinant to whether or not a polar cap patch can exit through the nightside auroral oval.

Venus today is inhospitable at the surface, its average temperature of 750 K being incompatible to the existence of life as we know it. However, the potential for past surface habitability and upper atmosphere (cloud) habitability at the present day is hotly debated, as the ongoing discussion regarding a possible phosphine signature coming from the clouds shows. We review current understanding about the evolution of Venus with special attention to scenarios where the planet may have been capable of hosting microbial life. We compare the possibility of past habitability on Venus to the case of Earth by reviewing the various hypotheses put forth concerning the origin of habitable conditions and the emergence and evolution of plate tectonics on both planets. Life emerged on Earth during the Hadean when the planet was dominated by higher mantle temperatures (by about 200$^\circ$C), an uncertain tectonic regime that likely included squishy lid/plume-lid and plate tectonics, and proto continents. Despite the lack of well-preserved crust dating from the Hadean-Paleoarchean eons, we attempt to resume current understanding of the environmental conditions during this critical period based on zircon crystals and geochemical signatures from this period, as well as studies of younger, relatively well-preserved rocks from the Paleoarchean. For these early, primitive life forms, the tectonic regime was not critical but it became an important means of nutrient recycling, with possible consequences to the global environment on the long-term, that was essential to the continuation of habitability and the evolution of life. For early Venus, the question of stable surface water is closely related to tectonics. We discuss potential transitions between stagnant lid and (episodic) tectonics with crustal recycling, as well as consequences for volatile cycling between Venus’ interior and atmosphere. In particular, we review insights into Venus’ early climate and examine critical questions about early rotation speed, reflective clouds, and silicate weathering, and summarize implications for Venus’ long-term habitability. Finally, the state of knowledge of the venusian clouds and the proposed detection of phosphine is covered.

In-situ measurements from the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission are used to estimate electron density from spacecraft potential and investigate compressive turbulence in the Earth’s magnetosheath. During the MMS Solar Wind Turbulence Campaign in February 2019, the four MMS spacecraft were arranged in a logarithmic line constellation enabling the study of measurements from multiple spacecraft at varying distances. We estimate the electron density from spacecraft potential for a time interval in which the ion emitters actively control the potential. The derived electron density data product has a higher temporal resolution than the plasma instruments, enabling the examination of fluctuation for scales down to the sub-ion range. The inter-spacecraft separations range from 132 km to 916 km; this corresponds to scales of 3.5 to 24.1 ion inertial lengths. The derived density and magnetic field data are used to study fluctuations in the magnetosheath through time lags on a single spacecraft and spatial lags between pairs of spacecraft over almost one decade in scale. The results show an increase in anisotropy as the scale decreases.

The possibility to exploit the muon scattering for the elemental discrimination of materials in a given volume is well known. When more than one material is present along the muon path, it is often important to discern the order in which they are stacked. The scattering angle due to the target volume can be split into two interior angles in the tomographic setups based on the muon scattering, and we call this property as the triangular correlation where the sum of these two interior angles is equal to the scattering angle. In this study, we apply this triangular correlation for a multi-block material configuration that consist of concrete, stainless steel, and uranium. By changing the order of this material set, we employ the GEANT4 simulations and we show that the triangular correlation is valid in the multi-block material setups, thereby providing the possibility of supportive information for the coarse prediction of the material order in such configurations.

Magnetic field draping occurs when the magnetic field lines frozen in a plasma flow wrap around a body or plasma environment. The draping of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) around the Earth’s magnetosphere has been confirmed in the early days of space exploration. However, its global and three-dimensional structure is known from modeling only, mostly numerical. Here, this structure in the dayside of the Earth’s magnetosheath is determined as a function of the upstream IMF orientation purely from in-situ spacecraft observations. We show the draping structure can be organized in three regimes depending on how radial the upstream IMF is. Quantitative analysis demonstrates how the draping pattern results from the magnetic field being frozen in the magnetosheath flow, deflected around the magnetopause. The role of the flow is emphasized by a comparison of the draping structure to that predicted to a magnetostatic draping.