Development of a new space weather forecasting system using interplanetary scintillation observations

HOMEResearch Results › Development of a new space weather forecasting system using interplanetary scintillation observations

[2019-06-27]

Solar eruptions called coronal mass ejections (CMEs) cause disturbances in the environment of the Earth when they arrive at the Earth. However, the prediction of the arrival of CMEs still remains a challenge. The propagating CMEs in the interplanetary space causes the scattering of radio waves; this phenomenon is called interplanetary scintillation (IPS). The IPS observation using the ground-based radio telescopes by ISEE, Nagoya University is a useful tool to detect the CMEs (see Figure).

We have developed a coronal mass ejection arrival time forecasting system based on a global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulation of the inner heliosphere and the IPS observation data. In this system, the initial speed of a CME is roughly derived from white-light coronagraph observations. Then, the propagation of the CME is calculated by a global MHD simulation. The IPS response is estimated by the three-dimensional density distribution of the inner heliosphere derived from the MHD simulation. The simulated IPS response is compared with the actual IPS observations made by ISEE. We demonstrated how the simulation system works using a halo CME event generated by a X9.3 flare observed on September 5, 2017. We find that the CME simulation that best estimates the IPS observation can more accurately predict the time of arrival of the CME at the Earth. These results suggest that the accuracy of the CME arrival time can be improved if our current MHD simulations include IPS data. This system is partially installed in the space weather forecasting system of National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT).

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Figure

Schematic image of the IPS observation that detect the propagating CME in the interplanetary space.

 

Reference

"Development of a coronal mass ejection arrival time forecasting system using interplanetary scintillation observations"

Kazumasa Iwai, Daikou Shiota, Munetoshi Tokumaru, Ken’ichi Fujiki, Mitsue Den, Yûki Kubo,

Earth, Planets and Space, 71,39, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-019-1019-5

 

Contact

Institute for Space–Earth Environmental Research (ISEE), Nagoya University

Associate professor Kazumasa Iwai

https://www.isee.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~k.iwai/en/index.html

 

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