Transcript Solar Ionosphere Disturbance

Designing Sudden Ionospheric
Disturbance Monitors
A Unique Collaboration Between
Scientists and Educators
Deborah Scherrer, Ray Mitchell, William Clark, Richard
Styner, Philip Scherrer, Umran Inan, Morris Cohen, Justin
Tan, Shannon Lee, Sharad Khanal, Scott Winegarden,
Hao Thai, Paul Mortfield
Stanford University and Local Schools
Quick Overview
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Motivations
The Plan
Objectives
The Monitors – SID and AWESOME
Structure
Speed Bumps
The Team
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Motivations
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Funders
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Research experience for
teachers & students
Long-term relationships
between teacher interns
& scientists
More under-represented
students into science
Quantitative results
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Educators
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Experience with how
scientists think & do
Content knowledge
Hands-on, real science,
to take back to the
classroom
Build EXCITEMENT &
enthusiasm for science
amongst students
Scientists
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Educators support their research
Effective experience for teachers
Tap expertize of teacher
Minimize overhead of training & supervision
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The Plan
Team community college & high school educators with
scientists to:
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Design, develop, & classroom-test VLF radio
receivers that track changes to the Earth’s
ionosphere caused by solar activity
Provide hands-on, authentic science experience for
teachers and students
Gather data useful to researchers
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Details
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Based on AAVSO original concept
2 versions:
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SID – inexpensive (~$150)
AWESOME – research quality (~$3000)
Preassembled, but students build their
own antenna (~$10)
Centralized data repository & chat site
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Objectives
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Place 100 SIDs and 15 AWESOMES
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Target under-represented high schools &
community colleges
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Leverage from CISM Partners
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Teacher workshops
University application
Integration into teacher-training courses
Access to web-based training
Distribute in a Partnership model, to encourage
scientist-teacher collaborations
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Scientific Goals
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Understand the causes & effects solar
activity has on the Earth, hopefully for
prediction capabilities (daytime data)
Understand the electrodynamic
coupling between the troposphere,
mesosphere, and the lower ionosphere
driven by lightning and thunderstorm
systems (nighttime data)
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IHY 2007
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The United Nations and organizers of
the International Heliophysical Year,
2007, have designated these Space
Weather Monitors as official IHY
instruments, to be placed in 191
countries around the world.
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The Sun, ionosphere,
and radio waves
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VLF Transmitters
24 around the world
Antenna Wires
Primarily U.S. Navy
stations for communicating
with submarines
“NLK” 24.8 KHz Navy Radio Station, Jim Creek, WA
1 cycle = 7.5 miles (12 km)
200’ Towers
VLF signals can be received all over the world, because of the
ionosphere!
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Our Monitors
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SID
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Low Cost (~$150)
Single band
1 sample/5 seconds
Preassembled & tuned
Students build antenna
Available free to
underserved schools
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AWESOME
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Moderate cost (~$3000)
Broadband; sample rate of
100kHz on each channel
Capture ELF/VLF frequencies
~30 Hz - 50kHz
Dual use system:
Daytime: monitor solar activity
Nighttime: monitor atmospheric
phenomena (e.g. lightning)
So sensitive that nearly any
signal above the ambient Earth
noise floor can be detected
Data useable for ionospheric and
solar researchers
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Not all events are readily explainable – students can research these
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06:35:50
06:04:22
05:32:55
05:01:27
04:29:59
Daytime
03:58:32
03:27:04
02:55:36
02:24:08
01:52:41
01:21:13
00:49:45
00:18:18
23:46:50
23:15:22
22:43:54
22:12:27
21:40:59
21:09:31
20:38:04
Sunrise
20:06:36
19:35:08
19:03:40
18:32:13
4.5
18:00:45
17:29:17
16:57:50
16:26:22
15:54:54
15:23:26
14:51:59
14:20:31
13:49:03
13:17:36
12:46:08
12:14:40
Local Nighttime
11:43:12
11:11:45
10:40:17
10:08:49
09:37:22
09:05:54
08:34:26
08:02:58
07:31:31
07:00:03
Detecting Solar Flares – SID(s)
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SID Events!
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3.5
3
2.5
Local Nighttime
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GOES-12 Weather Satellite
Detecting X-Rays
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Connecting SID to GOES Data
C4.5
C5.9
M1.3
C3.8
Students have also found
flares not cataloged by
GOES!!!
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Connecting
SID events
to sunspots
(Active
Regions)
#Event
Begin
Max
End Obs Q Type Loc/Frq
Particulars
Reg#
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------1960 +
1727
1736
1744 G12 5
XRA 1-8A
C4.5
3.1E-03
0424
1990 +
1930
1946
1954 G12 5
XRA 1-8A
C5.9
5.9E-03
0424
2000 +
2112
2134
2140 G12 5
XRA 1-8A
C3.8
3.1E-03
0424
2040 +
2341
2354
0002 G12 5
XRA 1-8A
M1.3
8.5E-03
0424 15
Funding
D
D = Includes diversity component
Teachers
NSF-CISM
Ionospheric Researchers
Solar Researchers
Students
Technology
& expertize
Integration back
into science
research
NASA
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Integration back
into science
research
Design & develop
SID & AWESOME
Coordination
Planning
AAVSO
Communications
Production
Partners
Distribution
Integration into university environment
Alabama A&M
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Reporting
Traffic Control
Distribution
Distribution
Partnerships
Teacher
Workshops
& courses
CISM Sites
Other scientists, universities
NASA colleagues
Amateur
radio clubs
Amateur astronomy
clubs
AAVSO
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Web-based
training in
space weather
NCAR
Exploratorium
Science
museums
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AWESOME
NCAR
Rice U
Teachers and classrooms – high school & community college
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100 SIDs
10 AWESOME
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General Public
Interest in
& awareness of
Space Weather
Centralized database
& communications
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Speed Bumps
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Administrivia
Changes in teaching
positions
Funding
Time
Management
Parts suppliers
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Our Team
Stanford Partners
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Philip Scherrer, Solar Observatories Group
Umran Inan, Stanford EE
Hao Thai, Solar Observatories Group
Deborah Scherrer, Stanford Solar Center
Educators
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Students
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Morris Cohen, Stanford EE
Justin Tan, Stanford EE
Shannon Lee, Chabot Community College
Sharad Khanal, Stanford Physics
Scott Winegarden, Mid Penninsula High School
(now at UC Irvine)
Mitch Patenaude, Cal State Hayward
Sam Penrose, Cal State Hayward
Kenny Oslund, Castro Valley High (now at CalTech)
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Ray Mitchell, Chief Engineer; Chabot
Community College, Cal State Hayward
William Clark, San Lorenzo High School
Richard Styner, San Lorenzo High School
Sean Fotrell, Castro Valley High School
Tim Dave, Chabot Community College
CISM Partners
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Roberta Johnson, NCAR
Ramon Lopez, Florida Institute of Tech.
Pat Reiff, Rice University
Marius Schamschula, Alabama A&M
Concept: Paul Mortfield
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For more information
on Space Weather Monitors
http://solar-center.stanford.edu/SID
[email protected]
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