Modeling of the Atmosphere-Magnetosphere-Ionosphere System (MAMI)
Overview
The interaction between the Earth's atmosphere and our immediate space
environment is most obvious at high northern and southern latitudes,
where the aurora gives its spectacular displays. Energetic particles
from our geospace environment have easy access to the upper atmosphere
and cause the light emissions that we see as
aurora. The visible aurora is only one phenomenon that the
precipitating particles cause. Other effects are an enhanced
ionization, temperature changes, compositional changes, enhancement
of ionospheric conductivity, and more. These modifications of the
ionosphere affect in turn the processes in the magnetosphere.
Polarization of ionospheric plasma couples magnetospheric convection
to the motion of the neutral atmosphere through ion-neutral
collisions. There is a tendency to impose upon the magnetosphere the
neutral winds of the upper atmosphere, whether solar driven or as
by-products of Joule heating or particle precipitation. Observations
have also shown that, at times, the ionosphere becomes a source of
plasma for the magnetosphere.
The MAMI investigation focuses on modeling the global, time-dependent
response of the thermosphere and ionosphere to magnetospheric sources
of energy and momentum carried by particles and fields. The objective
it to build as detailed a picture as possible of the effects of the
external sources on the terrestrial environment, given the available
measurements and in context of the models developed over the past
decades. These models are in particular an auroral model
AURORA,
a data assimilation model
AMIE,
and a global thermospheric circulation
model TIEGCM.
Find the home page for
or
Last updated: 19 Jan 96
Questions? Comments? Please send E-mail to
lumm@gi.alaska.edu