Exploring Localized Geomagnetic Disturbances in Global MHD: Physics and Numerics

Abstract One of the prominent effects of space weather is the formation of rapid geomagnetic field variations on Earth's surface driven by the magnetosphere‐ionosphere system. These geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs) cause geomagnetically induced currents to run through ground conducting systems....

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Main Authors: Erik M. Vandegriff, Daniel T. Welling, Agnit Mukhopadhyay, Andrew P. Dimmock, Steven K. Morley, Ramon E. Lopez
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-04-01
Series:Space Weather
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023SW003799
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author Erik M. Vandegriff
Daniel T. Welling
Agnit Mukhopadhyay
Andrew P. Dimmock
Steven K. Morley
Ramon E. Lopez
author_facet Erik M. Vandegriff
Daniel T. Welling
Agnit Mukhopadhyay
Andrew P. Dimmock
Steven K. Morley
Ramon E. Lopez
author_sort Erik M. Vandegriff
collection DOAJ
description Abstract One of the prominent effects of space weather is the formation of rapid geomagnetic field variations on Earth's surface driven by the magnetosphere‐ionosphere system. These geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs) cause geomagnetically induced currents to run through ground conducting systems. In particular, localized GMDs (LGMDs) can be high amplitude and can have an effect on scale sizes less than 100 km, making them hazardous to power grids and difficult to predict. In this study, we examine the ability of the Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF) to reproduce LGMDs in the 7 September 2017 event using both existing and new metrics to quantify the success of the model against observation. We show that the high‐resolution SWMF can reproduce LGMDs driven by ionospheric sources, but struggles to reproduce LGMDs driven by substorm effects. We calculate the global maxima of the magnetic fluctuations to show instances when the SWMF captures LGMDs at the correct times but not the correct locations. To remedy these shortcomings we suggest model developments that will directly impact the ability of the SWMF to reproduce LGMDs, most importantly updating the ionospheric conductance calculation from empirical to physics‐based.
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issn 1542-7390
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publishDate 2024-04-01
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series Space Weather
spelling doaj-art-eef938331f144665a33b386ef33585e82025-01-14T16:27:28ZengWileySpace Weather1542-73902024-04-01224n/an/a10.1029/2023SW003799Exploring Localized Geomagnetic Disturbances in Global MHD: Physics and NumericsErik M. Vandegriff0Daniel T. Welling1Agnit Mukhopadhyay2Andrew P. Dimmock3Steven K. Morley4Ramon E. Lopez5American University Washington DC USAUniversity of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USACenter for Space Environment Modeling University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USASwedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) Uppsala SwedenLos Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos NM USAUniversity of Texas at Arlington Arlington TX USAAbstract One of the prominent effects of space weather is the formation of rapid geomagnetic field variations on Earth's surface driven by the magnetosphere‐ionosphere system. These geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs) cause geomagnetically induced currents to run through ground conducting systems. In particular, localized GMDs (LGMDs) can be high amplitude and can have an effect on scale sizes less than 100 km, making them hazardous to power grids and difficult to predict. In this study, we examine the ability of the Space Weather Modeling Framework (SWMF) to reproduce LGMDs in the 7 September 2017 event using both existing and new metrics to quantify the success of the model against observation. We show that the high‐resolution SWMF can reproduce LGMDs driven by ionospheric sources, but struggles to reproduce LGMDs driven by substorm effects. We calculate the global maxima of the magnetic fluctuations to show instances when the SWMF captures LGMDs at the correct times but not the correct locations. To remedy these shortcomings we suggest model developments that will directly impact the ability of the SWMF to reproduce LGMDs, most importantly updating the ionospheric conductance calculation from empirical to physics‐based.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023SW003799magnetospheresimulationGIC
spellingShingle Erik M. Vandegriff
Daniel T. Welling
Agnit Mukhopadhyay
Andrew P. Dimmock
Steven K. Morley
Ramon E. Lopez
Exploring Localized Geomagnetic Disturbances in Global MHD: Physics and Numerics
Space Weather
magnetosphere
simulation
GIC
title Exploring Localized Geomagnetic Disturbances in Global MHD: Physics and Numerics
title_full Exploring Localized Geomagnetic Disturbances in Global MHD: Physics and Numerics
title_fullStr Exploring Localized Geomagnetic Disturbances in Global MHD: Physics and Numerics
title_full_unstemmed Exploring Localized Geomagnetic Disturbances in Global MHD: Physics and Numerics
title_short Exploring Localized Geomagnetic Disturbances in Global MHD: Physics and Numerics
title_sort exploring localized geomagnetic disturbances in global mhd physics and numerics
topic magnetosphere
simulation
GIC
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2023SW003799
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AT danieltwelling exploringlocalizedgeomagneticdisturbancesinglobalmhdphysicsandnumerics
AT agnitmukhopadhyay exploringlocalizedgeomagneticdisturbancesinglobalmhdphysicsandnumerics
AT andrewpdimmock exploringlocalizedgeomagneticdisturbancesinglobalmhdphysicsandnumerics
AT stevenkmorley exploringlocalizedgeomagneticdisturbancesinglobalmhdphysicsandnumerics
AT ramonelopez exploringlocalizedgeomagneticdisturbancesinglobalmhdphysicsandnumerics