Polar tongue of ionisation during geomagnetic superstorm

During the main phase of geomagnetic storms, large positive ionospheric plasma density anomalies arise at middle and polar latitudes. A prominent example is the tongue of ionisation (TOI), which extends poleward from the dayside storm-enhanced density (SED) anomaly, often crossing the polar cap and streaming with the plasma convection flow into the nightside ionosphere. A fragmentation of the TOI anomaly contributes to the formation of polar plasma patches partially responsible for the scintillations of satellite positioning signals at high latitudes. To investigate this intense plasma anomaly, numerical simulations of plasma and neutral dynamics during the geomagnetic superstorm of 20 November 2003 are performed using the Thermosphere Ionosphere Electrodynamics Global Circulation Model (TIE-GCM) coupled with the statistical parameterisation of high-latitude plasma convection. The simulation results reproduce the TOI features consistently with observations of total electron content and with the results of ionospheric tomography, published previously by the authors. It is demonstrated that the fast plasma uplift, due to the electric plasma convection expanded to subauroral mid-latitudes, serves as a primary feeding mechanism for the TOI anomaly, while a complex interplay between electrodynamic and neutral wind transports is shown to contribute to the formation of a mid-latitude SED anomaly. This contrasts with published simulations of relatively smaller geomagnetic storms, where the impact of neutral dynamics on the TOI formation appears more pronounced. It is suggested that better representation of the high-latitude plasma convection during superstorms is needed. The results are discussed in the context of space weather modelling.</p

Polar cap plasma transport during geomagnetic superstorm

Positive plasma anomalies appear during the main phase of geomagnetic storms at (sub)auroral latitudes, extending across the polar cap as tongue of ionisation (TOI). Physical mechanisms of TOI, including electrodynamic plasma transport and neutral wind forcing, are simulated with TIE-GCM during the superstorm of Nov. 2003. The simulations are compared with TEC observations and GNSS tomography. The electrodynamic transport (vertical ExB component in particular) is identified as the main mechanism controlling TOI anomaly during great storms (Dst < -300 nT). This makes the choice of high-latitude convection model critical for simulations

Improving estimates of the ionosphere during geomagnetic storm conditions through assimilation of thermospheric mass density

Dynamical changes in the ionosphere and thermosphere during geomagnetic storm times can have a significant impact on our communication and navigation applications, as well as satellite orbit determination and prediction activities. Because of the complex electrodynamics coupling processes during storms, which cannot be fully described with the sparse set of thermosphere–ionosphere (TI) observations, it is crucial to accurately model the state of the TI system. The approximation closest to the true state can be obtained by assimilating relevant measurements into physics-based models. Thermospheric mass density (TMD) derived from satellite measurements is ideal to improve the thermosphere through data assimilation. Given the coupled nature of the TI system, the changes in the thermosphere will also influence the ionosphere state. This study presents a quantification of the changes and improvement of the model state produced by assimilating TMD not only for the thermosphere density but also for the ionosphere electron density under storm conditions. TMD estimates derived from a single Swarm satellite and the Coupled Thermosphere Ionosphere Plasmasphere electrodynamics (CTIPe) physics-based model are used for the data assimilation. The results are presented for a case study during the St. Patricks Day storm 2015. It is shown that the TMD data assimilation generates an improvement of the model’s thermosphere density of up to 40% (measured along the orbit of the non-assimilated Swarm satellites). The model’s electron density during the course of the storm has been improved by approximately 8 and 22% relative to Swarm-A and GRACE, respectively. The comparison of the model’s global electron density against a high-quality 3D electron density model, generated through assimilation of total electron content, shows that TMD assimilation modifies the model’s ionosphere state positively and negatively during storm time. The major improvement areas are the mid-low latitudes during the storm’s recovery phase

Tras la abstracción desencarnada: presencias de infancia. La documentación pedagógica como experiencia formativa de re-significación de la cultura docente.

Esta comunicación, apoyada por la Universidad de Málaga y el Gobierno de España (FPU 17/03577), transita por los significados educativos de la acción, potencialmente filosófica, de documentar pedagógicamente en la escuela infantil, como espacio complejo de relación con las niñas y los niños. Una acción que, además, emerge como una posibilidad para formarse como profesionales desde aquello que acontece en la práctica educativa. En concreto, recorreremos los entresijos de una narrativa vivida por dos niñas que construyen “una casa para el bicho”. Un relato que nos ofrece la oportunidad ya no sólo de mirar a la infancia en la profundidad insospechada de su existencia, sino de sentirnos miradas y mirados por ella… Una constante interpelación, encarnada en la infancia, que nos interroga y con-mueve el lugar de nuestro propio “ser pedagógico”. Esto nos servirá para pensar sobre lo que se torna crucial en nuestra labor cotidiana en un contexto cada vez más incierto y plagado de incertidumbres pero que, sin embargo, podría parecer que nos exige la construcción de verdades absolutas.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Ionospheric plasma transport across polar cap

Large-scale ionospheric plasma anomalies appear at high latitudes, extending across the polar cap as a tongue of ionisation and polar patches. Physical mechanisms responsible for the plasma uplifts and transport are investigated using global ionospheric circulation models driven by parameterised highlatitude plasma convection models. Various convection models are considered, including the models based on satellite data, radar data, and data assimilation models. Contributions from electrodynamic plasma transport and neutral wind forcing are assessed. Mechanisms responsible for the energy dissipation, including frictional heating and Joule dissipation, are investigated. The numerical simulations are compared with plasma density measurements by positioning GNSS satellites and ground radar observations. The results are discussed in the context of space weather modelling and GNSS signal scintillation modelling at polar latitudes

Infancia: una ciudadanía singular, compleja e ignorada. El necesario acercamiento documental a las relaciones entre cuerpo y espacio en la infancia

La infancia parece haber sido sentenciada a una constante infravaloración: a menudo se tiende a mirar a los niños y niñas desde una perspectiva que no los considera como sujetos, sino como meros proyectos incompletos de adultos. Su condición de ciudadanas y ciudadanos no solo no les es reconocida, sino que les es negada, silenciada, produciéndose relaciones de poder basadas en la domesticación y la infantilización (Delgado, 2013). Con esta experiencia práctica desarrollada en el segundo ciclo de Educación Infantil del C.E.I.P. Nuestra Señora de Gracia (Málaga), hemos pretendido aproximarnos a la forma en la que los niños y niñas construyen una sociedad singular y compleja. Una delicada aproximación, a través de un proceso de documentación pedagógica (Hoyuelos y Riera, 2015), que nos lleva a comprender sus relaciones más íntimas con el espacio. Se muestran así los resultados de una escucha atenta a cómo niñas y niños generan y regeneran cultura desde sus propias formas de interpretar y habitar los territorios físicos de la escuela. Esto es, narraciones sobre momentos concretos en los que niños y niñas, en su relación con el espacio, nos llevan a una movilización de nuestros esquemas más arraigados sobre la infancia. Niños y niñas que se funden y dialogan con las propiedades de los objetos, que aprecian la belleza de su entorno, y que aprenden en su interacción con él. Momentos de aprendizaje de niños y niñas que, de primera mano, nos acercan al mundo de la infancia. El complejo mundo de la infancia.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech