3 research outputs found
How open data and interdisciplinary collaboration improve our understanding of space weather: A risk and resiliency perspective
Space weather refers to conditions around a star, like our Sun, and its
interplanetary space that may affect space- and ground-based assets as well
as human life. Space weather can manifest as many different phenomena,
often simultaneously, and can create complex and sometimes dangerous
conditions. The study of space weather is inherently trans-disciplinary,
including subfields of solar, magnetospheric, ionospheric, and atmospheric
research communities, but benefiting from collaborations with policymakers,
industry, astrophysics, software engineering, and many more
Quantifying Properties of Photospheric Magnetic Cancellations in the Quiet Sun Internetwork
We analyzed spectropolarimetric data from the Swedish 1-meter Solar Telescope
to investigate physical properties of small-scale magnetic cancellations in the
quiet Sun photosphere. Specifically, we looked at the full Stokes polarization
profiles along the Fe I 557.6 nm and of the Fe I 630.1 nm lines measured by
CRisp Imaging SpectroPolarimeter (CRISP) to study temporal evolution of the
line-of-sight (LOS) magnetic field during 42.5 minutes of quiet Sun evolution.
From this magnetogram sequence, we visually identified 38 cancellation events.
We then used Yet Another Feature Tracking Algorithm (YAFTA) to characterize
physical properties of these magnetic cancellations. We found on average
Mx of magnetic flux cancelled in each event with an average
cancellation rate of Mx s. The derived cancelled flux
is associated with strong downflows, with an average speed of
km s. Our results show that the average
lifetime of each event is minutes with an average of initial
magnetic flux being cancelled. Our estimates of magnetic fluxes provide a lower
limit since studied magnetic cancellation events have magnetic field values
that are very close to the instrument noise level. We observed no horizontal
magnetic fields at the cancellation sites and therefore can not conclude
whether the events are associated structures that could cause magnetic
reconnection.Comment: 19 pages, 18 figures, 2 tables, accepted into ApJ on 06/08/202
Heliophysics and Amateur Radio:Citizen Science Collaborations for Atmospheric, Ionospheric, and Space Physics Research and Operations
The amateur radio community is a global, highly engaged, and technical community with an intense interest in space weather, its underlying physics, and how it impacts radio communications. The large-scale observational capabilities of distributed instrumentation fielded by amateur radio operators and radio science enthusiasts offers a tremendous opportunity to advance the fields of heliophysics, radio science, and space weather. Well-established amateur radio networks like the RBN, WSPRNet, and PSKReporter already provide rich, ever-growing, long-term data of bottomside ionospheric observations. Up-and-coming purpose-built citizen science networks, and their associated novel instruments, offer opportunities for citizen scientists, professional researchers, and industry to field networks for specific science questions and operational needs. Here, we discuss the scientific and technical capabilities of the global amateur radio community, review methods of collaboration between the amateur radio and professional scientific community, and review recent peer-reviewed studies that have made use of amateur radio data and methods. Finally, we present recommendations submitted to the U.S. National Academy of Science Decadal Survey for Solar and Space Physics (Heliophysics) 2024–2033 for using amateur radio to further advance heliophysics and for fostering deeper collaborations between the professional science and amateur radio communities. Technical recommendations include increasing support for distributed instrumentation fielded by amateur radio operators and citizen scientists, developing novel transmissions of RF signals that can be used in citizen science experiments, developing new amateur radio modes that simultaneously allow for communications and ionospheric sounding, and formally incorporating the amateur radio community and its observational assets into the Space Weather R2O2R framework. Collaborative recommendations include allocating resources for amateur radio citizen science research projects and activities, developing amateur radio research and educational activities in collaboration with leading organizations within the amateur radio community, facilitating communication and collegiality between professional researchers and amateurs, ensuring that proposed projects are of a mutual benefit to both the professional research and amateur radio communities, and working towards diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities