NSF Award
2300579
This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). <br/><br/>The primary objective of the this award is to advance the understanding of the fundamental processes that control the development and evolution of extreme geomagnetically induced currents (GICs). The horizontal geoelectric field induced at the Earth's surface is the primary quantity that determines the magnitude of GIC that flow on high-voltage power transmission networks. However, knowledge on many aspects of the dynamic solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions that control the generation and evolution of the geoelectric fields is lacking, especially during extreme geomagnetic storms. The award would carry out a detailed characterization of the dynamic solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere processes that produce extreme geoelectric fields. Specifically, the award would address the science objectives: 1) What are the key high-latitude processes associated with the development and evolution of extreme geoelectric fields? (2) What is the role of field-aligned current meso-scale structures in the development of extreme geoelectric fields? (3) What are the key physical parameters/processes that control the auroral equatorward boundary expansion to lower latitudes? The award investigation is aligned with the White House-led National Science and Technology Council (National Space Weather Strategy and Action Plan, 2015/2019) that identified GICs as one of the top national threats. This award also contains a STEM education component in-which undergraduate students would be supported and mentored to advance knowledge and understanding while promoting teaching, training and learning. <br/><br/>The award research plan features a comprehensive data analysis and modeling effort that would connect new multiscale understanding of the fundamental drivers of GICs with GIC modeling. Observations from AMPERE/Swarm, SuperMAG, THEMIS, DMSP, and SuperDARN would be combined with global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations to address the science questions. The University of Michigan, SWMF, a global MHD application available at the CCMC operating at NASA/GSFC, would carry out a tightly integrated analysis of numerical modeling in combination with observations. The magnetosphere and ionosphere processes would be examined to determine when, why, and how changes in magnetosphere, magnetotail, magnetopause and in ionosphere currents affect the electric field characteristics. An in-depth analysis would be performed to understand what in the magnetosphere causes the geoelectric field latitude boundary effect, and their relationship to the boundary location in the simulations and observations.<br/><br/>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.
