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MuSE
- Left: GRACE data based ionosphere / plasmasphere reconstruction in GRACE orbit plane, Right: Global 3D topside ionosphere reconstruction based on COSMIC and SWARM GPS slant TEC data.
[1]
- © GFZ
The abbreviation MuSE stands for
"Multi-satellite ionosphere-plasmasphere electron density
reconstruction". It is an ionosphere/plasmasphere related
research project of the DFG within the priority program 1788
"Dynamic Earth". Project responsible from GFZ is Dr. Stefan
Heise, additional contact person is Prof. Jens Wickert.
MuSE aims to improve our understanding of the structure and dynamics
of the ionosphere/plasmasphere systems taking into account their
interaction with other geospheres such as magnetosphere and
thermosphere. The focus is on the sophisticated reconstruction of
spatial and temporal characteristics of the plasma environment of the
Earth mainly utilizing slant GNSS TEC observations from LEO satellites
and other complementary data, with special focus on the unique SWARM
3-satellite constellation observations. The results of this study are
expected to provide significant contributions to plasmasphere
modelling.
The following five key objectives are addressed:
1. Development of a mathematically sophisticated method for
topside ionosphere & plasmasphere reconstruction primarily based
on available LEO-GPS and in-situ data.
2. Further development of the already existing CHAMP data-based
plasmapause location model for SWARM application.
3. Validation and cross-comparisons of the results from objectives
1 and 2, and where appropriate, conclusions how to improve strategies
in the sense of objectives 1 and 2.
4. Elaboration of approaches for utilizing supplementary
information and data to improve the accuracy and spatial resolution of
the ionosphere / plasmasphere reconstructions. Especially, integration
of the new plasmapause model into the reconstruction procedure.
5. Evaluate and demonstrate the potential of the topside
ionosphere / plasmasphere reconstructions for space weather studies
and for enhanced plasmasphere modelling, taking benefit of the results
obtained in other projects being realized in the SPP
“DynamicEarth”.
References:
[1]
Heise, S., N. Jakowski, A. Wehrenpfennig, Ch. Reigber, H. Lühr,
(2002): Sounding of the topside ionosphere/plasmasphere based on GPS
measurements from CHAMP: Initial results. Geophys. Res. Lett., 29(14),
DOI: 10.1029/2002GL014738.
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