Space weather effects and prediction

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Abstract
Adverse conditions in the space environment, that is, space weather, can affect the performance and reliability of space-borne and ground-based technological systems. The dynamic near-Earth space environment, driven by solar activity, exhibits large variations of energetic particles, plasma, and electromagnetic fields. Abrupt changes or enhancements in these may cause disruption of satellite operations, communications, and electric power grids, leading to a variety of economic losses and impacts on our security. This chapter describes various space weather effects related to energetic particle populations in the inner magnetosphere during geomagnetic storms. Among the most important of these effects are geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) and spacecraft charging. GICs are due to time varying magnetic fields at the Earth’s surface produced by the spatial and time variable electric currents flowing in the ionosphere and magnetosphere during geomagnetic disturbances. Spacecraft surface charging is due to moderate-energy electrons depositing their charge on spacecraft surfaces and driving potential differences, which can lead to discharges that can damage material and electronics. Spacecraft internal (or “deep dielectric”) charging is due to highly energetic electrons that can penetrate through spacecraft shielding and can damage sensitive subsystems or even cause failure of the entire space system. Recent advances in our understanding of these space weather effects and capabilities for their nowcast and forecast are presented.
Year of Publication
2020
Book Title
Ring Current Investigations The Quest for Space Weather Prediction
Chapter
8
Publisher
Elsevier
City
Amsterdam
URL
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-815571-4.00008-1
DOI
10.1016/B978-0-12-815571-4.00008-1
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