Transcript The Potential of Research Satellites in Space Weather

Space Weather: Needs and Users
D.A. Biesecker
NOAA/Space Environment Center
Outline

A quick, general, introduction to space weather


Where’s the biggest interest lately? Aviation and human space flight





The Big List
What we expect from SDO


How other research missions were incorporated into the forecast center
What SEC needs the most


Product growth, tracking customers
Service Assessment
Lessons learned


Polar routes
Commercial human space flight
Moon and Mars
Some SEC and Space Weather Specifics


The 3 space weather scales
Immediate impact; longer term utility
Suggest a name for the GOES-R (and all future) SXI (it will be an EUV imager)

Due by 9am Friday
SEC and Space Weather Products
Products and Services
NOAA Space Weather Scales
 Similar to Hurricane and Tornado
intensity scales (1 thru 5)
Saffir-Simpson (1969)
Fujita scale (1971)
 Three Categories
Geomagnetic Storms, G-scale
•Caused by enhancements in Solar Wind
•Ground-based magnetometer deviations
Solar Radiation Storms, S-scale
•Caused by Particle Events
•Energetic Proton Flux on GOES
Radio Blackouts, R-scale
•Caused by Solar Flares
•Solar X-Ray Flux on GOES
Geomagnetic Storms
(G Scale)
•Power systems: widespread voltage control problems; protective
system problems; transformer damage; grid collapse and blackouts.
•Spacecraft operations: surface charging; problems with orientation;
uplink/downlink problems; satellite drag and tracking problems.
•Other systems: pipeline currents can reach hundreds of amps; HF
(high frequency) radio propagation may be impossible in many areas
for one to two days; satellite navigation may be degraded for days;
low-frequency radio navigation can be out for hours; aurora.
Solar Radiation Storms
(S Scale)
•Biological: Radiation hazard to astronauts (especially during EVA;
radiation exposure in commercial jets (mostly high latitudes)
•Satellite operations: satellites may be rendered useless; memory
impacts can cause loss of control; serious noise in image data; startrackers unable to locate sources; permanent damage to solar panels
•Other systems: complete, often prolonged (days) of blackout of HF
(high frequency) communications in polar regions; position errors make
navigation operations extremely difficult
Solar Flare Radio Blackouts
(R Scale)
•High Frequency Radio; mariner’s and aviator’s communication
degraded or blacked out
•Navigation; low frequency signals used by mariners and aviators
degraded or blacked out; satellite navigation errors
Powerful X17 flare
SEC and Space Weather Products
Products and Services
SEC produces 42 Alert products
Watches; expected
disturbances, events that are
forecast (i.e. The conditions
are favorable for occurrence)
Warnings; disturbances that
are imminent, likely, expected
in the near future with high
probability
Alerts; observed conditions
meeting or exceeding
thresholds
Summaries; report issued as
storm thresholds change/endof-event
Aviation

Lots of recent activity and focus on aviation
customers.

Workshops with FAA, Airline reps, dispatchers, and
pilot and steward unions




SEC visits to airline headquarters
Resulted in better understanding among all parties




Polar flights
Health issues
SEC knows airline needs
Airlines more familiar with space weather
1 new ‘product’
Including space tourism and VSE
SPACE WEATHER EFFECTS
ON
POLAR OPERATIONS
Excerpts from a talk given by UAL representatives
Len Salinas
Manager QA Dispatch & Operations
Chairman - Dispatch Safety Awareness Program
Eric Richardson
Aviation Meteorologist
February 23, 2004
UAL Operations: USA to Hong
Kong/China

Polar routes provide time savings and convenience to our customers


UAL Changes over the last 8 years



Note, other airlines, notably NWA also have significant presence in polar
operations
Eight years ago - Fly through 2 cities and take all day
Today - Cooperation with multiple countries and agencies this can now
be done in 16 hours, flying over the North Pole - Russia - China
Growth in number of flights




1999
2000
2001
2002
UAL operated 12 Polar demo flights
UAL operated 253 Polar flights
UAL operated 466 Polar flights
and 2003 UAL operated over 600 Polar flights
Aviation
• Aviation interests are significantly impacted
by solar radiation storms
• Radiation storms create a communications
problem and a biological threat.
Polar flights departing from North America use VHF (30-300 MHz)
comm with Canadian ATCs. Flights will continue using VHF with
Arctic Radio, but soon switch to HF (3 – 30 MHz). SATCOM is
considered a backup during polar flights, but it is rarely available
above 82 degrees north latitude.
Contingency



If problems detected prior to departure,
Russian Far East Route selected
If problem occurs before reaching the
polar area, the flight is re-routed. This
option likely results in an unplanned fuel
stop – typically Alaska.
If the problem occurs after the aircraft has
entered the area, the flight continues.
Polar Operations Support



Meteorology and Dispatch Joint Effort
Polar Package
Space Weather


Jointly determined that events S3 (>1000 pfu
>10 MeV) and greater are cause for concern
Flight planning begins ~8 hours out

select ~3 routes – depending on weather,
other constraints
Space Weather
Aviation Webpage
NOAA Scales
Maximum in
past 24-hours
Geomagnetic Storms
minor
Solar Radiation Storms
none
Radio Blackouts
moderate
24 Hour Forecast
Space weather for the next 24 hours is expected to be
extreme.
Geomagnetic storms reaching the G5 level are expected.
Solar radiation storms reaching the S3 level are expected.
Radio blackouts reaching the R3 level are expected.
Watches, Warnings, Alerts, and Summaries
Issue Time: 2004 Feb 24 1713 UTC
ALERT: X-Ray Flux exceeded M5
Threshold Reached: 2004 Feb 24 1712 UTC
Radio Blackout Plot
Polar Plot
T
O
D
A
Y’
S
S
P
A
C
E
Effect of Solar X-rays on D-Regionand HF Propagation.
•
D-Region Absorption Product based on GOES X-Ray Flux (SEC Product)
– The map shows regions affected by t he increased D-region i onization resulting
from enhanced x-ray f lux during magnitude X-1 Flare
W
E
A
T
H
E
R
Currently
none
none
moderate
Selected Solar Activity Affected
Polar Flights

Aug 16-17, 2001 New York and Chicago to Hong Kong


Oct 19, 2003 UAL 801 New York to Tokyo


Flight time increased 34 minutes and 10,700 pounds fuel added,
with 7500 pounds cargo denied
Oct 19, 2003 UAL 851 Chicago to Beijing


JFK and ORD to HKG flights operated on Polar 4 (instead of Polar
2 and 3) both days. Average penalty of 30 minutes and 15,000
pounds of denied payload
Flight time increased 25 minutes and 7,600 pounds fuel added
Oct 24, 2003 UAL 895 Chicago to Hong Kong

Flight time increased 31 minutes and 8,300 gallons fuel added
and 9100 pounds cargo denied
Cost Impacts


Airlines tell us typical cost per flight due to space
weather event is $10k-100k
March 30-April 21, 2001


UAL had 25 affected flights
My estimates of the itemized cost to airlines

Cargo


$1000/ton – highly variable
Fuel

$3.50/gallon – highly volatile
Back to some general SEC stuff


Product growth
Customers?


Impossible to capture true number of
customers
NWS Service Assessment
Annual Number of Space Weather Products Issued during Solar Cycle 23
•
The number of products above does not include the NOAA POES and GOES, or
NASA ACE real time solar wind data sets, which account for over 14 million file
transfers per month
•
Over 400 event-driven products were issued during each of the solar “minimum”
years (1996 & 1997)
3500
3156
3000
2993
2882
2500
3073
2478
2198
2000
2032
1806
2334
2080
https://pss.sec.noaa.gov/
1500
1000
793
500
Service Begins
N
ov
em
be
r
D
ec
em
be
r
ct
ob
er
O
em
be
r
Se
pt
A
ug
us
t
Ju
ly
Ju
ne
ay
M
pr
il
A
Ja
nu
ar
y
Fe
br
ua
ry
0
ar
ch
7
M
Total Number of Registrations
SEC Product Subscription Service
Customer Growth - 2005
Month
NOAA space weather alerts and
warnings are distributed by lead
organizations to sister agencies and
subordinate groups…
NOAA/SEC
Radiation
Alert/Warning
NASA
Space Radiation
Analysis Group
NASA Mission Control
•NASA Management
•Flight Control
•Biomedical Engineers
•Surgeon
Lockheed Martin Management
NASDA (Japan) Mission Control
CSA (Canada) Mission Control
ESA (Europe) Mission Control
RSA (Russia) Mission Control
Russian Inst. Biomedical Problems
46 ACE RTSW Data Displays on the SEC
Public Web Site:
• 35 updating Plots,
• 8 real-time lists
• 3 special displays for S/C location,
tracking, and current conditions "dials"
ACE RTSW customers are
from 62 domains, the top users:
Japan
.com (commercial)
Education
Germany
Australia
U.S. Government
United Kingdom
.net (commercial)
Russia
Belgium
Extensive Usage of Real Time
Solar Wind Data
• A million ACE solar wind files are
downloaded from the SEC FTP server every
month by nearly 25,000 unique customers
• SEC's public internet serves 4.8 million
ACE RTSW data display files every month.
List of recipients for NOAA SEC
Alerts & Warnings
(distributed by JSC NASA)
Energetic
Solar
Solar
Energetic
Particle Particle Geomagnetic Electron Belt
Solar
Solar
Event
Event
Storm
Enhancement X-Ray Flare Particle
Particle
Geomagnetic
Position
Warning Warning
Warning
Warning
Alert
Event Alert Event Alert Storm Alert
MCC-H BME
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
MCC-M BME
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
SRAG
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
MCC-H SURG
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
MCC-M SURG
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
MCC-H FLTCTRL
x
x
x
x
MCC-M FLTCTRL
x
x
x
x
NASA MEDOPS
x
x
x
NASA MGMT
x
x
CSA MGMT
x
ESA MGMT
x
NASDA MGMT
x
RSA MGMT
x
LOCK MGMT
x
x
NOAA SPPT
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
CSA DSRHO
x
x
CSA SRHO
x
x
ESA DSRHO
x
x
ESA SRHO
x
x
IBMP DSRHO
x
x
IBMP SRHO
x
x
NASA DSRHO
x
x
NASA SRHO
x
x
NASDA DSRHO
x
x
NASDA SRHO
x
x
Electron Belt
Enhancement
Alert
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
High ISS
High ISS
TEPC Dose TEPC Daily
Rate Alarm Dose Alarm
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
http://www.sec.noaa.gov/AboutSEC/SWstorms_assessment.pdf
Service Assessment
Intense Space Weather Storms
October 19 – November 07, 2003
•17 X-ray flares
•2 ICME’s transited in 19 hrs
•ACE capabilities degraded
•Over 270 watches, warnings
and alerts
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Weather Service
Silver Spring, Maryland
Radio Blackout alerts – 17
Geomag. storm alerts – 41
Radiation storm alerts – 31
•Over 300 media contacts
SEC Space Weather Advisory
Official Space Weather Advisory issued by NOAA Space
Environment Center, Boulder, Colorado, USA
SPACE WEATHER ADVISORY BULLETIN #03- 2
2003 October 21 at 06:11 p.m. MDT (2003 October 22 0011 UTC)
**** INTENSE ACTIVE REGIONS EMERGE ON SUN ****
Two very dynamic centers of activity have emerged on the sun. NOAA Region 484
developed rapidly over the past three days and is now one of the largest sunspot
clusters to emerge during Solar Cycle 23, approximately 10 times larger than Earth.
This region, which is nearing the center of the solar disk, already produced a major
flare (category R3 Radio Blackout on the NOAA Space Weather Scales) on 19 October
at 1650 UTC. The region continues to grow, and additional substantial flare activity is
likely.
A second intense active region is rotating around the southeast limb of the
sun. Though the sunspot group is not yet visible, two powerful eruptions
occurred on 21 October as seen from the LASCO instrument on the SOHO
spacecraft. These eruptions may herald the arrival of a volatile active
center with the potential to impact various Earth systems.
Further major eruptions are possible from these active regions as they rotate across the
face of the sun over the next two weeks. Agencies impacted by solar flare radio
blackouts, geomagnetic storms, and solar radiation storms may experience
disruptions over this two-week period. These include satellite and other spacecraft
operations, power systems, HF communications, and navigation systems.
One way forecasters respond



GOES/XRS – automated flare detection – various
thresholds – audible alarm and text display
GOES/SXI – automated flare location – text
display
Check of other sources – LASCO, Type II…



HALO CME e-mail list or do their own speed
calculation. Assess event size, direction, morphology
Check ‘Major Events Database’ – what did other
events like this do
Issue Watch
Major Events Database

X17 Flare Oct 28


The extreme magnitude and speed of the event led the
forecasters to examine the historical record to
provide some guidance for the likely Sun-Earth transit
time. It was found that the fastest Sun-Earth transit of
a CME observed to date for the current solar cycle was
28 hours, from the X5 flare on July 14, 2000.
Forecasters expected this CME transit to be even
faster, and predicted a transit time of 24 hours.
Geomagnetic storm watches were issued predicting the
strongest geomagnetic storm of Solar Cycle 23.
X8 Flare Nov 2

Historical data revealed that the geomagnetic
response from large CMEs that originated from near
the west limb varied dramatically. Given the intensity
of the recent storms, forecasters predicted another
severe storm with an onset in less than 25 hours.
Updated LASCO imagery on November 03 (Figure 6),
revealed that while there was an Earth-directed
component (full halo CME was identified), most of the
ejecta were directed away from Earth: an impact was
likely, but the storming would be considerably less
than initially expected. Also significant was the
deceleration of the CME as it moved away from the
Sun. The initial prediction for a <25 hour arrival was
changed to ~40 hours. A short-lived geomagnetic
storm began early on November 04 (36.5 hour transit)
and briefly reached severe levels before quickly
subsiding.
K >4
K =4
K <4
An All Clear Forecast

X28 Nov 4, 2003



Airline dispatchers assumed that S3 level
would be exceeded
From source location, West Limb, forecasters
advised airlines that S3 threshold would not
be reached
Thus, airlines could fly their optimal polar
routes.

Maximum storm size - S2
Service Assessment Findings


Finding (1 out of 9): Significant shortfalls exist in warning and
forecast capability due to inadequate models and tools to derive
forecast products. There is currently limited capability to warn for
solar flare radio blackouts, high energy radiation storms, and many
other aspects of space weather.
The recent activity highlighted the need for the following models (2
of 6):


Coronal Mass Ejection Propagation - CME characterization (mass, speed,
direction, and magnetic structure) for predicting time of CME arrival and
onset and intensity of geomagnetic storming.
Solar Energetic Particles (SEP) - SEP spectra for airlines, satellite
anomaly, and manned space flight hazard prediction. Airline companies
and satellite operators requested more detailed SEP onset time and
duration predictions.
Lessons Learned


How and why some missions are useful
Or – why forecasters use their data


ACE – we planned for this one
SOHO – produced some surprises
Lessons Learned - ACE

Keys to forecast center use



First data in 1997



Worked before launch to ensure continuous receipt of data
directly to the forecast center
Global ground station network meets this need
Magnetometer and solar wind data were expected to be
used


Reliability 24/7
Latency – commensurate with timescale of
alert/warning/forecast
Bz, VSW
Proof of concept for operations

ACE follow-on mission being studied (BAA)
ACE – unexpected uses

ACE/EPAM proton data

Energetic Ion Enhancement (EIE)
signature of approaching magnetic cloud
 Forecasters need to do forecast specific studies
 Forecasters need to understand the
science/methodology


Avoid confusion with CIR signature
Transient Shocks

Shock accelerated protons move ahead of the source, seen at L1
hours before transient arrival


As shock approaches, flux of accelerated particles increases


Allows forecaster to monitor approach of shock
EIE typically peaks with the shock arrival
Peak in EIE flux believed to correlate with geomagnetic response


Can we use EIE flux as a predictor of geomagnetic activity from
transients?
Define an appropriate EIE threshold to forecast major to severe
geomagnetic storming
EIE Begins
CME Observed
Shock Arrival
Forecast Study

Reviewed EPAM data (47-65 keV): Apr 98 - Dec 00



Recorded EIE event particulars (peak flux and timing)
and corresponding Kp/Ap (Potsdam)
Identified EIE sources and categorized into Transient,
High Speed Stream (HSS), Unknown, or Exclude




EIE flux of 104 particle flux units (pfu) marked onset of
“event”
Recorded a total of 113 events
83 Transients, 21 HSS, 5 Unknown, 4 Exclude
Used the Transients and Unknown (88 events) to compute
statistics
Correlated peak EIE flux with geomagnetic response

5  105 pfu best threshold to predict major-severe storms
Study Results
EIE Max  5  105
Timing

Time from EIE event onset (104 pfu) to
shock ranged from 0 - 36 hours

Highly dependent on peak EIE flux
EIE peak typically coincident with shock
arrival at L1
 Largest Kp values occurred up to 22 hours
after EIE peak
 Maximum running Ap typically observed in
first 24 hours following EIE peak, but up to
42 hours after peak

Total (Estimated) Number of Space Weather
Models Driven or Validated by ACE Solar Wind Data
40
Number of models
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Year
Models - in development; being evaluated for operations; in use internationally
Models used in SEC Operations
Lessons Learned - SOHO

Reliability and Latency
issues are key



Reliability – mostly
good
Latency - good
SOHO team ‘sold’ the
utility of the data to
SEC

Jan 1997 event a
prime example
Lessons Learned - SOHO

Currently use EIT, LASCO and MDI


Less use of EIT now that GOES/SXI is operational
Worked with SOHO teams to ensure rapid access
to data and for simple analysis tools



Happened slowly over time
Auto-ftp gif images directly from SOHO operations
center
LASCO team issues Halo CME alerts with relevant
measurements


Assumed source location, velocity, PA
Not always in the time needed, so SEC does its own analysis
The big list

A list of the highest priority needs



As identified by a survey of forecasters
Latest version completed Feb, 2006
Not a complete list of needs

I just got this latest list, so I’m not sure of the
specifics for some of these
SEC Highest Priority Operational
Needs

Solar energetic particle event forecasts









including start time, end time, peak flux, time of peak flux,
spectra, fluence, and probability of occurrence
Geomagnetic indices (e.g., Ap, Kp, Dst) and probability
forecasts
Background solar wind prediction
Solar wind data from L1
Solar coronagraph data
Energetic electron flux prediction for International Space
Station
Regional geomagnetic activity nowcasts and forecasts
Ionospheric maps of TEC and scintillation (real-time and
future)
Solar particle degradation of polar HF radio propagation
SEC High Priority Operational
Needs










Improved image analysis capability (e.g., for GOES-N SXI, STEREO, SDO)
Short-term (days) F10.7 forecasts
Short-term (days) X-ray flare forecasts
EUV index
Geomagnetic activity predictions (1-7 days) based on CME observations,
coronal hole observations, solar magnetic observations, and ACE/EPAM
observations
Visualization of disturbances in interplanetary space (e.g. view from above
the ecliptic tracking an ICME)
Geomagnetic storm end-time forecast
Real-time estimates of geomagnetic indices
Real-time quality diagnostics (verification) of all warning/watch/forecast
products
Routine statistical and/or numerical guidance for all forecast quantities


e.g., climatological forecasts of flares, geomagnetic indices and probabilities, and
F10.7—similar to NWS Model Output Statistics
Magnetopause crossing forecasts based on L1 data
Proton event prediction

Lots of new data since the operational model
was last updated (1998)



A little activity in this area – working on validating
some of the model outputs (e.g. >100MeV)
CME speed is a good discriminator (~1200 km/s)
Represents a real, significant need in the
operational community (viz Oct-Nov effects)

Airlines want 8 hr lead time



Okay, not realistic but better ability to predict event peak
fluxes and event duration would be worthwhile
Maybe we can do 8 hr lead on exceeding a threshold for
certain events
The demand for better energetic particle
prediction can only increase in the future
Solar wind structure





Coronal holes (high speed streams) are the
main driver of geomagnetic activity during the
declining phase of the cycle
Solar sector boundaries are also important
Wang-Sheeley-Arge model is a good start, but
needs more development
Better modeling could significantly improve
forecasting the onset of activity
Provides an important context for CMEs

CME acceleration/deceleration depends on the preexisting ambient solar wind into which it flows
SDO

Our ability to use these data depends on:




Utility – that’s where the science (and you) comes in
Reliability – not an issue
Latency – not an issue
Long lifetime a huge asset


Although we expect more from STEREO, we consider it
‘limited’ due to the short lifetime.
Bottom line is, forecasters will use it if it helps
them
Themes of the AIA

Energy input, storage, and release: the 3-D dynamic coronal
structure
3D
configuration of the solar corona; mapping magnetic free energy; evolution of
the corona towards unstable configurations; the life-cycle of atmospheric field

Coronal heating and irradiance: thermal structure and
emission
Contributions
to solar (E)UV irradiance by types of features; physical properties
of irradiance-modulating features; physical models of the irradiance-modulating
features; physics-based predictive capability for the spectral irradiance

Transients: sources of radiation and energetic particles
Unstable
field configurations and initiation of transients; evolution of transients;
early evolution of CME’s; particle acceleration

Connections to geospace: material and magnetic field output
of the Sun
Dynamic
coupling of the corona and heliosphere; solar wind energetics;
propagation of CME’s and related phenomena; vector field and velocity

Coronal seismology: a new diagnostic to access coronal physics
Evolution,
propagation, and decay of transverse and longitudinal waves; probing
coronal physics with waves; the role of magnetic topology in wave phenomena
Objectives of the HMI

Convection-zone dynamics and the solar dynamo


Origin and evolution of sunspots, active regions and complexes of
activity


Origin and dynamics of magnetic sheared structures and δ-type
sunspots; magnetic configuration and mechanisms of flares and CME’s –
improved predictions of flares and maybe even CME’s
Links between the internal processes and dynamics of the corona
and heliosphere


Active region source and evolution; sunspot lifetime – next day
probabilities
Sources and drivers of solar activity and disturbances


Evolution of meridional circulation – solar cycle prediction
Coronal magnetic structure and solar wind – solar wind important as
cause of geomagnetic storms and the influence on ICME’s
Precursors of solar disturbances for space weather forecasts.

Far-side imaging and active index; determination of magnetic cloud Bs
events – longer lead time forecasting, improved geomagnetic storm
forecasts
How we’ll use AIA and HMI

AIA

Backup to SXI



during eclipse season
Possibility that GOES-12
SXI will die and GOES-N
will not be made
operational immediately
Flare location? (USAF)


CME signatures


10s vs 60s
Waves, dimmings
HMI

Far-side imaging
How we’d like to use AIA and HMI

10 sec cadence – precursors or unique signatures

We’ll need automated feature recognition







Robust, few false alarms, easily validated
Identifying the magnetic field configurations which lead
to CME’s, filament eruptions and flares
Emerging flux/AR’s – actual lead time for flare and CME
forecasts
…
…
…
…
Event detection needed!

Automated event detection will be a necessity




Automatically identify when something significant
happens; i.e. event detection, favorable conditions
There is way too much SDO data for the forecaster
to be able to watch for everything
Flares, waves, dimmings, precursors,
emerging flux…
Others…pretty much anything you can
imagine
Additional AIA uses



Show us whether we
need to improve
spatial/temporal
resolution of future GOES
SXI
Calibration/tracking of
GOES SXI
New insight into
phenomena we are
interested in?


Flare precursors
CME diagnostics
•Flare location
•Coronal Hole area/location
•Active Region area/complexity
•Returning active regions
•CME diagnostics
A brief summary

SDO, SOHO, ACE, STEREO, SOLAR-B…



Show us what we’ll need for the next
generation of operational instruments
Benefit forecasters significantly
It’s often difficult to know how useful
they’ll be

However, there are certain hurdles which
must be overcome for the data to even have
the potential to be useful
Current Forecast Capabilities



30 day climatology
1 day persistence
skill.

The average accuracy of the
forecasts in the sample relative to
the accuracy of forecasts
produced by a reference method.
Examples of a suitable reference
include forecasts of recurrence,
persistence, sample climatology,
or the output of a forecast model.
Skill can be measured by any
number of so-called skill scores.
SDO
He II 304 Å
AIA wavelength bands
C IV 1550 Å
1600Å?
Fe IX/X 171 Å
Fe XX/XXIII
133 Å
Fe XII 195 Å
Fe XVIII
94 Å
Channel
Visible
1700Å
Fe XIV 211 Å
Ion(s)
Continuum
Continuum
Region of Atmosphere*
Photosphere
Temperature minimum, photosphere
Char. log(T)
3.7
3.7
He II
Chromosphere, transition region,
4.7
5.0
5.8
304Å
12.7
1600Å
171Å
4.7
C IV+cont.
Fe IX
Transition region + upper photosphere
Quiet corona, upper transition region
193Å
6.0
Fe XII, XXIV
Corona and hot flare plasma
211Å
7.0
Fe XIV
Active-region corona
6.3
335Å
16.5
Fe XVI
Active-region corona
6.4
94Å
0.9
Fe XVIII
Flaring regions
6.8
Fe XX, XXIII
Flaring regions
7.0, 7.2
131Å
Fe XVI 335 Å
††
4.4
*Absorption allows imaging of chromospheric material within the corona;
††FWHM, in Å
6.1, 7.3
NOAA/SEC Real Time Data
- an absolute requirement to support worldwide DoD operations
>80% of ALL DoD space wx alerts/warnings rely on NOAA data
NOAA/SEC Data
(Primarily Satellite)
STRATCOM
Army and Navy
Operations
U.S. Northern Command
and NORAD
National
Security
Impacts
Space Command
USAF
Air Force
Weather Agency
Joint Space
Ops Center
Missile
Defense Agency
National Reconnaissance
Office
- Critical loss of radar target tracking or creates false targets
- Launch trajectory errors & payload deployment problems
- Direct radiation hazard to high altitude aircrews
- HF radio blackouts – comm impact to sensitive operations
- SATCOM interference/downlink problems
- Impede SAR (search & rescue) operations