June 15, 2018, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
July 20, 2018, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm, SED Director's Seminar, Hosted by the Heliophysics Science Division (670)
Connecting the corona to solar wind structure and magnetospheric impact using modeling and remote and in situ observations
Nicki Viall-Kepko (671)
Connecting solar wind structures and dynamics observed throughout the heliosphere - and especially near Earth - back to their origins in the Sun?s atmosphere has long been one of the central goals of heliophysics. Making this link is fundamental to determine the origin and formation of the solar wind. Achieving this goal is essential for understanding the basic physical processes driving solar and heliospheric activity, for fully understanding space weather, and for developing predictive space weather models. Under the new ISFM program we brought together an ambitious, cross-disciplinary, cross-laboratory, GSFC-focused work package team of world-class experts on the solar atmosphere, inner heliosphere, and Earth?s magnetosphere. We combine remote and in situ observations with modeling to yield fundamentally new insights into the dynamic connection between the corona and the heliosphere, and how it drives Earth?s magnetosphere. Our project is crucial for the ultimate space weather goal of deterministically forecasting geoeffective structures in the solar wind. Furthermore, by determining where and under what conditions spatial structure vs. temporal dynamics in the corona controls the resultant solar wind, this research will significantly advance and potentially fundamentally alter our understanding of solar wind release and acceleration. The Sun-heliosphere connection is also directly relevant to the goals of the upcoming Parker Solar Probe (PSP) and Solar Orbiter (SO) missions, and the GSFC-lead proposed CODEX and ISAT missions, making this proposed project extremely timely. The results of our research will be breakthrough science discoveries for all inner heliospheric datasets, and a critical theoretical framework for understanding and interpreting data from PSP and SO.