[P-EM12] Coupling Processes in the Atmosphere-Ionosphere System

[PEM12-06] Scientific advances from the Center for Geospace Storms

★Invited Papers

*Viacheslav G Merkin¹, Dong Lin², Kevin Pham², Kareem Sorathia¹, Shanshan Bao³, Anthony Sciola¹, Roger Varney⁴, Joe Huba⁵, Wenbin Wang², Michael Wiltberger² (1.Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 2.National Center for Atmospheric Research, 3.Rice University, 4.University of California, Los Angeles, 5.Syntek Technologies)

Keywords:geomagnetic storms, center for geospace storms, stormtime geospace, NASA DRIVE

The Center for Geospace Storms (CGS) is one of the three NASA DRIVE Science Centers currently in Phase II, and it is the only one focusing on the physics of geospace. CGS science is rooted in the understanding of stormtime geospace as a system that is highly coupled across a wide range of spatiotemporal scales. This necessitates the need for physical models that are both holistic, i.e., treat all the relevant processes and domains, and possess sufficiently high resolution to capture all the relevant scales, within the limitations of the existing computer power. To this end, CGS is developing a Multiscale Atmosphere-Geospace Environment (MAGE) model that satisfies the above requirements. In this presentation, we review the recent work by the CGS team, using both the MAGE model and accompanying observations, concentrating on the multiscale nature of stormtime interactions in the geospace system. The highlights include the recent work by the CGS team highlighting the importance of realistic physics-based high- and mid-latitude driving of the ionosphere-atmosphere system, including: energetic particle precipitation into the ionosphere; thermosphere density enhancements and travelling ionospheric and atmospheric disturbances; mesoscale polar ionosphere density structure and its implications for the global magnetosphere among others. We conclude by placing these representative cross-scale coupling processes in the context of the global mass and energy redistribution characteristic of stormtime geospace dynamics.