Organiser: Jasmine Sandhu, MSSL.
If you are interested in giving a seminar on any space plasma physics related topic at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory please contact Jasmine Sandhu, Colin Forsyth, Chris Owen, or Daniel Verscharen.
Upcoming Talks
12 AUGUST 2019 - 11:00 - MSSL Common Room
Speaker: Prof Sandra Chapman
Title: 'Data analytics’ approaches to space weather
Abstract: The plasma and magnetic field of earth’s near-space environment is highly dynamic, with its own space weather. Space weather and solar terrestrial physics observations are increasingly becoming a data analytics challenge and there are common approaches with other fields such as earth climate observations.
Where there are multiple observations such as the SuperMAG collated 100+ magnetometer stations in the auroral region we can test for spatio-temporal patterns of correlation using dynamical networks. Whilst networks are in widespread use in the data analytics of societal and commercial data, there are additional challenges in their application to physical time series. We are able to construct dynamical networks direct from SuperMAG. The transient dynamics of the auroral current system is captured by the spatio-temporal patterns of correlation between the magnetometer time-series and can be quantified by (time dependent) network parameters. Cross-correlation lags can be used to construct directed networks which give directions and timescales for propagation. This offers the possibility of characterizing detailed spatio-temporal pattern by a few parameters, so that many events can then be compared with each other and with differing theoretical predictions of the ‘typical’ substorm current system.
Where there are single point, long term observations we can quantify the space climate effects of the variability between each unique solar cycle. Over the last five solar cycles we have parameters characterizing solar wind driving and magnetospheric response. These vary with the different activity levels of each solar cycle but we found certain properties of the statistical distribution are reproducible from one solar maximum to the next. Observations of the past heliospheric climate may assist prediction of that of the next solar cycle. Over the last 14 cycles we have less well resolved geomagnetic indices and we can attempt to use these to quantify how the likelihood of super-storms depends on solar cycle modulated activity and to set the Carrington event in context.
Quantifying how the frequency and intensity of large, rare events is changing in time is a generic challenge. A topical question is whether heatwaves are becoming more intense and more frequent. The potential for addressing this question solely from the data will be discussed using a new analysis of earth surface temperature timeseries.
Past Talks
Date | Speaker | Affiliation | Title |
10 June 2019 | Joe Eggington | Imperial College London | Magnetopause Reconnection and its Ionospheric Signatures in Global Magnetospheric Simulations |
09 May 2019 | Dr Sarah Bentley | University of Reading | Towards a probabilistic model of Earth’s radiation belts: the uncertainty in ultra-low frequency plasma waves |
16 April 2019 | Dr John Coxon | University of Southampton | Temporal behaviour of Birkeland currents in AMPERE |
19 March 2019 | Dr Maria-Theresia Walach | Lancaster University | Time variability in high-latitude ionospheric convection at Earth. |
30 January 2019 | Dr Luca Franci | Queen Mary University of London | Hybrid Simulations of Plasma Turbulence and Magnetic Reconnection in the Solar Wind: Comparison with In-situ Observations. |
22 January 2019 | Dr Kristopher Klein | University of Arizona | Thermodynamics far from Equilibrium: Studying Plasma Heating and Instabilities in the Solar Wind. |
29 November 2018 | Samuel Wharton | University of Leicester | The Resonant Response of the Magnetosphere to Changing Geomagnetic Conditions |
09 October 2018 | Dr Thomas Elsden | University of St Andrews | Magnetospheric Field Line Resonances in 3D |
08 October 2018 | Dr Ferdinand Plaschke | Space Research Institute, Graz | Jets in the Magnetosheath: Origin, Evolution, and Impact |
17 September 2018 | David Stansby | Imperial College London | Preparing to re-visit the inner heliosphere |
22 August 2018 | Dr Imogen Gingell | Imperial College London | Instrument-induced production of negative hydrogen ions under solar wind bombardment |
10 July 2018 | Prof. Benjamin Chandran | University of New Hampshire | Alfvén-Wave Turbulence and the Origin of the Solar Wind |
29 June 2018 | Dr. George Livadiotis | Southwest Research Institute | Kappa Distributions: Theory and Applications in Space Plasmas |
23 May 2018 | Dr. Robert Burston | University of Bath | Planets, Plasmoids, Leaky Taps, Springs and Chaos |
8 May 2018 | Dr. Christopher Chen | Queen Mary University of London | Turbulence and Heating in the Solar Wind |
1 May 2018 | Dr. Chadi Salem | SSL, UC Berkeley | Combining Radio Receivers and Electrostatic Analyzers for Accurate Measurements of Solar Wind Electrons: WIND Observations |
25 January 2018 | Dr. Owen Roberts | ESA ESTEC | The solar wind power spectrum observed from Cluster: insights in three dimensions and at sub ion scales |
22 October 2015 | Prof. Gerhard Haerendel | Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics | Current sheet avalanche and substorm breakup |
25 August 2015 | Dr. Luke Barnard | University of Reading | Solar Stormwatch CME Catalogue |
28 July 2015 | Prof. Ken McCracken | University of Maryland | The temporal variability of the cosmic radiation, solar activity, and the heliospheric magnetic field over the past 10,000 years |
22 April 2015 | Dr. Laurence Billingham | British Geological Survey | The British Geological Survey Geomagnetism Team |
18 March 2015 | Dr. Heli Hietala | Imperial College London | Unravelling the solar wind drivers of the storm-time radiation belt response |
24 February 2015 | Nathan Pilkington | University College London | How does Plasma Shape Saturn's Magnetosphere? |
18 February 2015 | Dr. Robert Fear | University of Southampton | Observational tests of flux transfer event structure |
29 January 2015 | Dr. Mick Denton | Lancaster University | A new empirical model of ion and electron fluxes at geosynchronous orbit |
9 October 2014 | David Miles | University of Alberta | Next- Generation Fluxgate Magnetometry at the University of Alberta |
7 October 2014 | Dr. Hanna Dahlgren | Royal Institute of Technology KTH/ University of Southampton | Energy and flux characteristics of dynamic fine scale aurora |
20 August 2014 | Prof. Ian Mann | University of Alberta | The Impacts of Ultra Low Frequency Waves on the Dynamics of the Earth’s Van Allen Belts |
14 August 2014 | Dr. Andrew Walsh | ESAC | Automatic Georeferencing of Astronaut Auroral Photography: Providing A New Dataset for Space Physics |
6 June 2014 | Dr. Lorenzo Matteini | Imperial College London | Kinetic Processes in the Solar Wind |
12 May 2014 | Prof. Michael Balikhin | University of Sheffield | System Approach to Solar-Terrestrial Physics: Advance in Physical Understanding and Space Weather Forcast |
7 April 2014 | John Coxon | University of Leicester | The Birkeland current system and its place in the expanding/contracting polar cap paradigm |
18 March 2014 | Dr. Catriona Jackman | University of Southampton | Dynamics of the magnetotails of Jupiter and Saturn from magnetic field and plasma flow measurements |
10 October 2013 | Dr. David Knudsen | University of Calgary | Thermal Ion Imaging and its Role on Swarm and the Enhanced Polar Outflow Probe Satellites |
07 June 2011 | Dr. Jonathan Eastwood | Imperial College | Cluster observations of magnetic reconnection and the ion diffusion region in the Earth's magnetotail |
20 April 2011 | Prof. E. Dubinin | Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Germany | Induced magnetospheres at Mars and Venus: Open questions |
01 February 2011 | Dr. Craig Leff | MSSL ExoMars PanCam Project Manager | A review of MER surface operations, with implications for MSL and ExoMars |
13 October 2010 | Dr. Yasir Soobiah | Swedish Institute for Space Physics, Kiruna, Sweden | The search for Martian aurora signatures in MEX ASPERA-3 IMA observations |
20 September 2010 | Prof. Rajmal Jain | Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad | Indian missions to study solar and interplanetary plasma |