SCOSTEP/PRESTONEWSLETTER
Vol. 40, July 2024

Inside this issue

Article 1:

Article 1:
Fine structure in the ionospheric E-F valley revealed by the Sanya Incoherent Scatter Radar(SYISR)

1

Article 2:
The first Solar Dynamics
Observatory database in
the Southern Hemisphere

3

Article 3:
The Importance of FAIRIES Observations with the
LEONA Collaborative Network

5

Highlight onYoung Scientists 1:
Lalitha G Krishnan / India

7

Highlight onYoung Scientists 2:
Yuto Bekki / Germany

8

Meeting Report 1:
388 IAU Symposium- Solar and Stellar Coronal
Mass Ejections

10

Meeting Report 2:
TRENDS 2024

10

Meeting Report 3:
The ESPD summer school

11

Meeting Report 4:
UN/Germany Workshop
on ISWI

11

Meeting Report 5:
The VCAIS/ANGWIN 2024
Workshop12

Upcoming Meetings

13

Announcement 1:
SCOSTEP 2024 Distinguished Scientist Award /Jie Zhang

14

Announcement 2:
SCOSTEP 2024 Distinguished Young Scientist
Award / Man Hua

15

Fine structure in the ionospheric E-F valley revealed by the Sanya Incoherent Scatter Radar (SYISR)
Xu Zhou1 and Xinan Yue1
1Astronomical Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics /Beijing National
Observatory of Space Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China

Xu ZhouThe lower ionosphere, especially thevalley between the E- and F-layers(E-F valley), contains a variety of intriguing phenomena and also have significant impacts on radio communicationand modern navigation. However, detecting the variability of the nighttime E-F
valley is challenging for conventional
ionosondes due to the low electron densi-

Xinan Yuety and shielding by the high-density sporadic E (Es). Fortunately, the Sanya Incoherent Scatter Radar (SYISR), a modern
phased array radar, has already been established and has started regular operation. The powerful measurement locatedin the low latitudes of East Asia (18.3°N,
109.6°E) can monitor the variability ofthe entire ionosphere with fine resolution

Figure 1. Individual cases of the “ionospheric drizzle” observed over Sanya.

SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 40

Article
Highlight on Young Scientists
Meeting Report
Upcoming Meetings
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2

Figure 2. Testing particle trajectories in the plane of height and local time driven by (a) both neutral winds and Efields, (b) solely factor of neutral wind (E-fields) plotted in red (blue) lines, and (c) zonal (meridional) winds
plotted in purple (orange) lines.

and high sensitivity [1, 2]. In March–April 2022, amonth-long continuous experiment profiled the ionosphere with the a density sensitivity of ~ 103 cm-3 andthe resolution of 4.5 km vertically and 0.8 s temporally,
thus providing an opportunity to shed light on what ishappening in the E-F valley.

and zonal winds gradually take over below this level.
The simulation also suggested that only the ion projected below ~170–180 km has the opportunity to descend
further. At higher altitudes, the electrodynamical uplift
becomes important. However, the triggering mechanism
is still inconclusive and requires further investigation.

IOn this experiment, an intriguing phenomenon termed“ionospheric drizzle” was revealed, which manifests
as plasma “streaks” that detach from the F-layer baseand extend down to the Es layer, occurring around predawn hours [3]. In Figure 1, the observed cases are displayed, including common features and individual variability. For all cases, the descent speed is ~10–20 m/s,
and the plasma detached from the F-layer base generally
takes over an hour to reach the Es layer at ~115–120
km. The electron density generally decreases by a factorof ten as the “ionospheric drizzles” descend before
merging and enriching the Es layer. Not all cases manifest apparent periodical fluctuations at the F-layer base,and the magnitude of the influences on the Es layer are
also varies.

S

ubsequently, a testing particle simulation was designed to elucidate the physical mechanism. A setof 100 individual ions was initially projected randomly
distributed in 160–200 km heights with zero initial velocity. The ion trajectories were shown in Figure 2, andcontrolled simulations distinguished the effects of neutral winds and electric fields. The simulation showedthat the neutral winds have the potential to generate adescending speed of ~10 m/s, which was similar inmagnitude to the observations. Meridional winds play
an important role in the plasma descent above 140 km,

SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 40verall, the SYISR ionospheric observations revealed an interesting phenomenon, “ionosphericdrizzle”, which is frequently observed in the E-F valleyaround dawn. The downward coupling process brings
additional plasma to enhance the Es layer at ~115–120
km, thus having significance for space weather and solar-terrestrial physics.
Reference:[1] Yue, X., Wan, W., Ning, B. et al. An active phasedarray radar in China. Nat Astron 6, 619 (2022).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-022-01684-1[2] Yue, X., Wan, W., Ning, B., Jin, L., Ding, F., Zhao
, B., et al. (2022). Development of the Sanya incoherent scatter radar and preliminary results. Journalof Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 127,
e2022JA030451.
https://
doi.org/10.1029/2022JA030451[3] Zhou, X., Yue, X., Wang, J., Cai, Y., Ding, F., Ning, B., et al. (2023). “Ionospheric drizzle” observedin the pre-dawn E-F valley over Sanya. Journal ofGeophysical Research: Space Physics, 128,e2023JA031481.
https://
doi.org/10.1029/2023JA031481

Article

Article 2:

The first Solar Dynamics Observatory database in
the Southern Hemisphere

HannahSchunker

Introduction

N

RaymondBurstonT

he Data Record Management System DRMS wasdeveloped by the Joint Science Operations Center(JSOC) to archive and distribute data from the AIA andHMI instruments. The JSOC provides a remote version,
NetDRMS, to non-JSOC institutions, so that those sites
can take advantage of the JSOC-developed software to
manage large amounts of solar data. The NetDRMS
consists of two PostgreSQL databases and software to
manage these components. Each data series contains themetadata in a searchable table (the DRMS) and points tothe corresponding image FITS files stored in the associated Storage Unit Management System (SUMS).

Meeting Report

ASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory [SDO, 2],
launched in 2010, is a monitoring mission capturing full disk images of the Sun at a number of wavelengths with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. The Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager [HMI, 3]
instrument onboard SDO observes the line-of-sightmagnetic field, continuum intensity and Doppler velocity at the surface of the Sun in 4000×4000 pixel images
every 45 seconds. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly[AIA, 1] instrument observes the outer atmosphere of
the Sun creating images at each of 10 different wavelengths every 10 seconds. The SDO has generated anenormous amount of data over its operational lifetime,making it necessary to store the data in a searchable database for efficient access.

Simon O’Toole

Highlight on Young Scientists

Hannah Schunker1,Simon O’Toole2 and Raymond Burston1
1University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
2Australian Astronomical Optics, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia

T

he Australian Data Centre for SDO (OzSDO) is a
NetDRMS installation, which primarily acts as a
mirror for individual data series from the central SDO
JSOC repository at Stanford. OzSDO downloads data-

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Announcement

Figure 1. The first instalment of the hardware for Australian Data Centre for SDO, OzSDO, at Australian Astronomical Optics Data Central (Macquarie University) Australia (18 May 2023).

SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 403

Articlebase information and SUMS files for specified data series, and these files are then managed by the local
SUMS. It currently contains the full meta-data for eachof the HMI data series hmi.m_45s, hmi.v_45s,
hmi.ic_45s, hmi.sharp_cea_720s, and aia.lev1, as wellas the images for selected time periods under analysis.
The NetDRMS at OzSDO is also capable of generating
independent data series designed for post-processed data.

Highlight on Young Scientists

The hardware and infrastructure for the database ishosted at Australian Astronomical Optics Data Central at Macquarie University, a hub for telescope data inAustralia. The OzSDO currently consists of a data server with 2 Intel Xeon Gold CPUs (32 cores), 128 GB
RAM, 20 TB RAID5 HDD connected to a 216 TB dataarray and a compute server with two 3.1 GHz Intel
Xeon Gold CPUs (32 cores total), 512 GB memory, andan additional 3.8 TB SSD local storage. We plan to expand the storage and compute capabilities over the next
two years. Beyond 2027, it will be imperative to securecontinued support to sustain the OzSDO service.

T

Meeting Reporthe advantage of hosting a local NetDRMS repository lies in the efficient read-write access for largescale pipeline data analysis of SDO observations. However, it is not feasible to transfer and permanently store
the complete catalogue of SDO observations. All analysis pipelines at the OzSDO must be designed to pull thenecessary observations for a specific purpose, reduce thedata for analysis, and when space is limited, purge thefull disk observations from the local SUMS. Our immediate science goal is to build upon the SDO/HEARS [5,4] data series, using helioseismology to understand theformation and evolution of magnetically active regions
on the Sun. Access to the OzSDO is available to researchers in the Centre for Solar and Space Physics
group at the University of Newcastle (Australia), andexternally upon request.

T
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he Solar Dynamics Observatory has been continuously collecting an enormous amount of highresolution high-cadence observations for almost fifteen
years. It is anticipated that observations will continue tobe produced while the instruments remain functional.
Having the first Solar Dynamics Observatory databasein the southern hemisphere, places Australia in a position to exploit this extensive trove of solar observations.
With comprehensive coverage spanning nearly two solar
cycles, this extensive data series is ideally suited forconstraining the physics driving the dynamics of solar
magnetic activity, the solar cycle, and space weather.
Acknowledgements

T
Announcement4

he OzSDO was made possible with financial contributions by the SCOSTEP/ PRESTO 2023 database
grant, the University of Newcastle’s Women in Research 2022 program, and the Australian ResearchCouncil’s Future Fellowship Award (project number
FT220100330) and Discovery Project (project number
DP230101240). We thank Art Amezcua and the SDO
Team at Stanford University for their technical support
in setting up the database. The authors acknowledge the
Awabakal people and the Wallumattagal clan of theDharug Nation, the traditional custodians of the unceded
land on which we work and this database resides.

SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 40

References:[1] J. R. Lemen, A. M. Title, D. J. Akin, P. F. Boerner,
C. Chou, J. F. Drake, D. W. Duncan, C. G. Edwards, F. M. Friedlaender, G. F. Heyman, N. E.
Hurlburt, N. L. Katz, G. D. Kushner, M. Levay, R.
W. Lindgren, D. P. Mathur, E. L. McFeaters, S.
Mitchell, R. A. Rehse, C. J. Schrijver, L. A.
Springer, R. A. Stern, T. D. Tarbell, J.-P. Wuelser,
C. J. Wolfson, C. Yanari, J. A. Bookbinder, P. N.
Cheimets, D. Caldwell, E. E. Deluca, R. Gates, L.
Golub, S. Park, W. A. Podgorski, R. I. Bush, P. H.
Scherrer, M. A. Gummin, P. Smith, G. Auker, P.
Jerram, P. Pool, R. Soufli, D. L. Windt, S. Beardsley, M. Clapp, J. Lang, and N. Waltham. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on the Solar
Dynamics Observatory (SDO). , 275(1-2):17-40,
Jan. 2012.
[2] P. H. Scherrer, J. Schou, R. I. Bush, A. G. Kosovichev, R. S. Bogart, J. T. Hoeksema, Y. Liu, T. L.
Duvall, J. Zhao, A. M. Title, C. J. Schrijver, T. D.
Tarbell, and S. Tomczyk. The Helioseismic andMagnetic Imager (HMI) Investigation for the Solar
Dynamics Observatory (SDO). , 275:207-227, Jan.
2012.
[3] J. Schou, P. H. Scherrer, R. I. Bush, R. Wachter, S.
Couvidat, M. C. Rabello-Soares, R. S. Bogart, J. T.
Hoeksema, Y. Liu, T. L. Duvall, D. J. Akin, B. A.
Allard, J. W. Miles, R. Rairden, R. A. Shine, T. D.
Tarbell, A. M. Title, C. J. Wolfson, D. F. Elmore,
A. A. Norton, and S. Tomczyk. Design and Ground
Calibration of the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) Instrument on the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). , 275(1-2):229-259, Jan. 2012.
[4] H. Schunker, A. C. Birch, R. H. Cameron, D. C.
Braun, L. Gizon, and R. B. Burston. Average motion of emerging solar active region polarities. I.
Two phases of emergence. , 625:A53, May 2019.
[5] H. Schunker, D. C. Braun, A. C. Birch, R. B.
Burston, and L. Gizon. SDO/HMI survey of
emerging active regions for helioseismology. ,595:A107, Nov. 2016.

Article

Article 3:

The Importance of FAIRIES Observations with the
LEONA Collaborative Network

Highlight on Young Scientists

Eliah F. M. T. São Sabbas1, 2, 3
1NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
2The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, USA
3National Institute for Space Research, São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil

Eliah F. M. T.
São Sabbas

A

Figure 2. LEONA coverage since 2018: current stations(green), prospective (pink) and the newest one in the
US (yellow, left).

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the two types of EFfects SignAlIng the ElectRodynamic
CouplIng between the AtmospherE and Space(FAIRIES), illustrated in Figure 1. More recently, theUV spectrometer onboard NASA probe Juno showed
TLE-like signatures in Jupiter [Giles et al., 2020], thefirst evidence that FAIRIES are not unique to Earth andmay occur at any planet and moon with intense atmospheric electricity.

The discovery of FAIRIES revealed that transient
plasmas and hard radiations produced in the neutral
atmosphere of the Earth can contribute to space weather,
given the modifications they create in the ionosphericelectron density and magnetospheric particle populationin the radiation belts. And since they are created by themeteorological systems' electrical activity, FAIRIES
connect terrestrial weather and climate to space weather.
This research becomes even more important in relationship with Climate Change. HEETs are ionizing radiationthat may result in doses 100 times higher on people traveling in commercial airplanes than those recommended
by the International Commission on Radiological Protection [Dwyer et al., 2010; Desmaris, 2015].

I

Announcement

Figure 1. Illustration of main FAIRIES known to date(adapted from TARANIS team).

Meeting Reportbout 30 years ago, humanity discovered that thunderstorms make more than lightning discharges,
rain, and severe weather in the troposphere that impact
us at the surface of the planet. By testing a low-lightlevel camera for astronomical observations in 1989, researchers from Minnesota University recorded, for the
first time, short duration plasmas in the upper atmosphere above thunderstorms [Franz et al., 1990], later
named Sprites [Sentman et al. 1995]. Sprites were thefirst indication that the neutral Atmosphere, Ionosphereand Magnetosphere (AIM) system is electrodynamicallycoupled in an upward fashion. Sprites are only one typeof Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) signaling thiscoupling, they are the most spectacular ones. All TLEs
together, the most well-known being the halos, blue jets,
gigantic jets and elves, span the whole region from thethundercloud tops to the bottom of the nighttime ionosphere (~15-105 km altitude). Shortly after we discovered the TLEs, we also found gamma-ray emissions
from terrestrial origin in the data from Astrophysicalsatellites, whose sensors point to outer space [Fishman
et al., 1994], the Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes(TGFs). And, subsequently, that TGFs can create a cascade of energetic particles, including anti-matter, that
propagate upwards to outer space and downwards to theground: the High Energy Emissions from Thunderstorms (HEETs). The HEETs measured up to date areelectron-positron pairs, neutrons, gamma-rays and Xrays. With measured energies from a few keV to 100
MeV, they are comparable to photons and other particles emitted by stars when they go supernovae, and thephysics behind such energetic particles generation isstill not completely understood. TLEs and HEETs aret was to investigate these contributions and to start
accessing them quantitatively that the LEONA Net-SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 405Article
Highlight on Young Scientists

Acknowledgments:
The author would like to thank the São Paulo Research
Foundation - FAPESP, for the support that enabled thecreation and advancement of the LEONA Network via
the grants #2012/20366-7 and #2021/15209-9.
References:

Meeting Report

Fishman, G. J., et al., Discovery of intense gamma‐ray
flashes of atmospheric origin, Science, 264, 1313–1316,
1994.
Franz, R. C.; Nemzek, R. J.; Winckler, J. R. Television
image of a large upward electrical discharge above athunderstorm system. Science, v. 249, n. 4964, p. 48–51,
jul. 1990. ISSN 0036-8075, 1095-9203.
Desmaris, G.; Cosmic radiation in aviation: radiologicalprotection of Air France aircraft crew. Proceedings of
ICRP, 2015.

Upcoming Meetingsかcan continents, South and North America, between 2018and 2023 (e.g. Figure 3). In the long run, the data fromthis unique FAIRIES research platform will permit not
only accessing the impact of FAIRIES in the Ionosphereand Magnetosphere, therefore their space weather contribution, but will also allow understating the similarityand differences between them in North and South America, the characteristics of the lightning and convective
systems creating them in these two continents, their response to the solar cycle, and their climatology. The
core of the LEONA network in South America also coincides with the heart of the South Atlantic Magnetic
Anomaly (SAMA), which makes for a perfect naturallaboratory to investigate space weather effects. The state-of-the-art knowledge generated by the analysis of thedata collected with the LEONA network will significantly motivate FAIRIES inclusion in the AtmosphereIonosphere-Magnetosphere global models, such as theWhole Atmosphere Community Climate Model With
Thermosphere and Ionosphere Extension (WACCMX),
the Multiscale Atmosphere-Geospace Environment
Model (MAGE) and others.

Announcement
6

Figure 3. Examples of TLEs captured by LEONA: single carrot sprite in 2018, sprite-halo and elve in 2019.

work was created. LEONA is an acronym for Transient
Luminous Event and ThunderstOrm High Energy EmissioN CollaborAtive Network. LEONA is a network ofequipment and collaboration that was created in 2015
with the support of the São Paulo Research Foundation(FAPESP) in Brazil. LEONA has now 1 mobile HEET
station with a neutron detector, and 8 ground-stations inSouth America, covering the region considered to be thehome of the most severe thunderstorms in the world[Zipser et al., 2006], therefore possibly the hottest
FAIRIES region of the world [São Sabbas et al., 2010],
composed by Northern Argentina, Southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, and one station installed last year in
New Mexico, USA, covering the region with the mostintense convection in North America (Figure 2). Operated remotely from anywhere in the globe with internet
connection by scientists and students that are part of the
LEONA team, more than 1,000 Transient Luminous
Events from more than 20 thunderstorms have been detected with the network equipment in these two Ameri-

SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 40

Dwyer, J.R., et al., Estimation of fluence of high-energy
electron bursts produced by thunderclouds and resulting
radiation doses received in aircraft. J. Geophys. Res.
115, DO9206, 2010.
Giles, R. S., et al., Possible transient luminous events
observed in Jupiter's upper atmosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 125, e2020JE006659.
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JE006659, 2020.

São Sabbas, F. T., et al., Observations of prolific transient luminous event production above a mesoscale convective system in Argentina during the Sprite2006 Campaign in Brazil, J. Geophys. Res., 115, A00E58,
doi:10.1029/2009JA014857, 2010.
Sentman, D. D.; Wescott, E. M.; Osborne, D. L.; Hampton, D. L.; Heavner, M. J. Preliminary results from the
sprites94 aircraft campaign: 1. Red sprites. GeophysicalResearch Letters, v. 22, n. 10, p. PP. 1205–1208, 1995.
Zipser, E. J., D. J. Cecil, C. Liu, S. W. Nesbitt, and D. P.
Yorty (2006) Where are the most intense thunderstorms
on Earth? Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 87: 1057-1071, 10.1175/BAMS-87-8-1057.

Article

Highlight on Young Scientists 1:

Investigation of the Equatorial Ionosphere using HF RadarT

he complexity in accurately predicting the ionospheric dynamo region electric field arises on account of it being sensitive to perturbations from the lower atmosphere and magnetosphere. While the modulations in the tidal wind amplitudes & phases and thegravity wave activity originate from the lower atmosphere [1], the modulations in the field bought in by the
Prompt Penetration Electric Field [2] and Disturbance
Dynamo Electric Field [3] constitutes the magnetospheric contribution.

T

Lalitha G
Krishnanma irregularities having a scale size half the radar wavelength and embedded in the Equatorial Electrojet. The
received signals are Doppler shifted depending upon thedrift of these plasma irregularities. The east and west
orientations of the radar beams help in separating out
the zonal and vertical components of drift [5]. The zonal
drift of the type-II plasma irregularities thus obtained is
directly proportional to the dynamo region electric field[6]. The differences in HF radar measurements of drifts
on a quiet and a magnetically disturbed day are illustrated in Figure 1. This radar is being used systematically toinvestigate the equatorial electrodynamics during varying geophysical conditions.

Meeting Reporthe continuous probing of this electric field is possible by means of backscatter radars. An indigenously developed coherent, monostatic and pulsed 18MHz
HF radar was established at Thumba, India (8.5˚N, 77˚E
and dip lat.=1.96˚N) thirty years ago [4]. This radar system underwent refurbishment recently and is being operated continuously during the daytime since July 2021.
This is probably the only radar operating at HF frequency in the equatorial region for ionospheric studies. The
transmitted signals are Bragg’s scattered from the plas-

Highlight on Young Scientists

Lalitha G Krishnan1, 2
1Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
2University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

A

collocated magnetometer and ionosonde aid andcomplement the radar-observed variability in the E-region and the understanding of its impacts in the Fregion, respectively. Delineating the source of the perturbations by combining these observations with themodel simulations and observations from multiple latitudes, therefore, is of particular interest.

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Figure 1. The temporal variation of daytime zonal drift derived from the doppler shift in the received signals andthe strength of signals received on 10 July 2023 (quiet day) and 14 July 2023 (disturbed day).

SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 407

Acknowledgements

225. https://doi.org/10.1029/GM098p0203.

ArticleArticleI extend my gratitude to SCOSTEP Visiting Scholar
program for providing me the opportunity to work with
Dr. Kazuo Shiokawa, ISEE, Nagoya University, Japan.
The visit had been for exploring the global aspects of
the above-mentioned aspects of radar observations andextending the scope of my study. I also acknowledge
Indian Space Research Organisation for providing research fellowship.

[4] Janardhanan, K. V., Ramakrishna Rao, D., Viswanathan, K. S., Krishna Murthy, B. V., Shenoy, K.
S. V., Mohankumar, S. V., Kamath, K. P., Mukundan, K. K., Sajitha, G., Shajahan, M., & Ayyappan,
C. (2001). HF backscatter radar at the magnetic
equator: System details and preliminary results.
Indian Journal of Radio and Space Physics, 30(2),77–90.

Highlight on Young Scientists

References:[5] Patra, A. K., Tiwari, D., Devasia, C. V., Pant, T.
K., & Sridharan, R. (2005). East‐west asymmetriesof the equatorial electrojet 8.3 m type‐2 echoes
observed over Trivandrum and a possible explanation. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space
Physics,
110(A11305).
https://
doi.org/10.1029/2005JA011124.

Meeting Report
Upcoming Meetings
Announcement
8[1] Somayajulu, V., Reddy, C., & Viswanathan, K.
(1979) VHF radar observations of possible gravity
wave-generated electric fields in the equatorial
electrojet. Low Latitude Aeronomical Processes,
25-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-0244396.50009-0.
[2] Kikuchi, T., Araki, T., Maeda, H., & Maekawa, K.
(1978). Transmission of polar electric fields to theEquator. Nature, 273, 650–651.
[3] Fuller-Rowell, T. J., Codrescu, M. V., Roble, R.
G., & Richmond, A. D. (1997). How does the thermosphere and ionosphere react to a geomagnetic
storm? Geophysical Monograph Series, 98, 203–

[6] Reddy, C. A., Vikramkumar, B. T., & Viswanathan, K. S. (1987). Electric fields and currents inthe equatorial electrojet deduced from VHF radarobservations-I. A method of estimating electricfields. Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial
Physics,
49(2),
183–191.
https://
doi.org/10.1016/0021-9169(87)90053-5.

Highlight on Young Scientists 2:

Probing the Sun’s interior with inertial modes of oscillations

Yuto Bekki1
1Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Göttingen, GermanyT

he Sun’s interior can be studied with oscillations
observed on the solar surface. The 5-min acoustic

Yuto Bekki

modes of oscillation have been used very successfully tomeasure, for example, the sound speed and the internal

Figure 1. Observations and identification of the solar inertial modes. (a) Frequencies of the solar modes in the
Carrington frame (rotating frame). The symbols show the observed frequencies of the high-latitude modes, thecritical latitude modes (Gizon et al. 2021), the equatorial Rossby modes (Löptien et al. 2018), and the highfrequency retrograde modes (Hanson et al. 2022). The solid lines show the computed linear dispersion relations
from the linear model. (b) Surface eigenfunctions of selected modes. Top and bottom rows show the observations(Gizon et al. 2021, 2024) and the model (Bekki et al. 2022a), respectively.

SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 40

Article
Highlight on Young Scientists

Figure 2. Results from nonlinear mean-field simulations by Bekki et al. (2024). (a) Visualisation of the streamlinesof the baroclinically-unstable high-latitude inertial mode. (b) Relationship between the latitudinal temperature
difference in the middle of the convection zone and the velocity amplitude of the m=1 baroclinically-unstablemode. (c) Relationship between the latitudinal temperature difference and the latitudinal differential rotation,
showing that the Sun’s differential rotation reaches its maximum allowed value (red symbols). The blue symbols

O

ur model indicates that most solar inertial modes
are linearly stable. Despite their small velocity amplitudes, these modes have significant diagnostic potential for probing the Sun’s deep interior. Observations ofsolar inertial modes now allow us to constrain previously-inaccessible physical parameters, such as turbulent
viscosity and superadiabaticity (Bekki et al. 2022a, Bekki 2024), which are hardly constrained by acoustic
modes.
urthermore, some inertial modes are found to play asignificant role in the Sun's internal dynamics. Our
recent study shows that the high-latitude inertial modes
are baroclinically unstable and thus regulate the latitudinal temperature gradient by transporting heat toward theequator (Bekki et al. 2024). This negative feedback process controls the amplitude of differential rotation via
the thermal wind balance, as depicted in Figure 2.

In summary, a series of our studies has paved a new
way to probe the Sun's interior using inertial modes(see Gizon et al. 2024 for a review). We aim to further
advance this new field of “inertial mode helioseismology” by analysing more observational data and refining
numerical models.

●

●

●

●

●

●

Gizon, L., Cameron, R., Bekki, Y., Birch, A., Bogart, R., Brun, S., Damiani, C., Fournier, D., Hyest,
L., Jain, K., Lekshmi, B., Liang, Z.-C., and Proxauf,
B. (2021). Solar inertial modes: Observations, identification, and diagnostic promise. Astron. Astrophys.,652, L6.
Bekki, Y., Cameron, R., and Gizon, L. (2022a). Theory of solar oscillations in the inertial frequency
range: Linear modes of the convection zone. Astron.
Astrophys., 662, A16.
Bekki, Y., Cameron, R., and Gizon L. (2022b). Theory of solar oscillations in the inertial frequency
range: Amplitudes of equatorial modes from a nonlinear rotating convection simulation. Astron. Astrophys., 666, A135.
Hanson, C., Hanasoge, S., and Sreenivasan, K.
(2022). Discovery of high-frequency retrograde vorticity waves in the Sun. Nature Astronomy, 6, 708.
Bekki, Y. (2024). Numerical study of non-toroidal
inertial modes with l=m+1 radial vorticity in the
Sun’s convection zone. Astron. Astrophys. 682,
A39.

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F●

Meeting Report

differential rotation. Dozens of low-frequency modes ofinertial oscillations, whose restoring force is the Coriolis
force, were recently observed (Löptien et al. 2018, Gizon et al. 2021). These modes have periods of order thesolar rotation period. Their identification was made possible with a numerical computation of the linear
eigenmodes of oscillations of the Sun’s differentiallyrotating convection zone (Bekki et al. 2022a, 2022b).
Figure 1 compares the observed properties of solar inertial modes with those from our linear model.

Bekki, Y., Cameron, R., and Gizon, L. (2024). The
Sun’s differential rotation is controlled by highlatitude baroclinically unstable inertial modes. Science Advances, 10, eadk5643.
Gizon, L., Bekki, Y., Birch, A., Cameron, R., Fournier, D., Philidet, J., Lekshmi, B., and Liang, Z.-C.
(2024). Solar inertial modes. Proc. IAU Symposium
365 “Dynamics of Solar and Stellar Convection
Zones and Atmospheres”.

●

Announcement

References:
Löptien, B., Gizon, L., Birch, A., Schou, J., Proxauf,
B., Duvall Jr., T. L., Bogart, R., and Christensen, U.
(2018). Global-scale equatorial Rossby waves as an
essential component of solar internal dynamics. Nature Astronomy, 2, 568.

SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 409

Article
ArticleMeeting Report 1:

388 IAU Symposium- Solar and Stellar Coronal Mass Ejections

Highlight on Young Scientists

Grzegorz Michalek1
1Catholic Astronomical Observatory of the Jagiellonian University

F

Meeting Reportrom May 5 to May 10, 2024, an international symposium organized by the Jagiellonian University
under the patronage of IAU (388 IAU SymposiumSolar and Stellar Coronal Mass Ejections) was held in
Krakow (https://iausymposium.zyrosite.com). Dr. Nat
Gopalswamy, a scientist from NASA GSFC, served as
the chairman of the scientific organizing committee.
Around 140 participants that included scientists andstudents attended the conference in-person. A total of
about 90 talks were delivered and 57 posters were presented. The first day of the conference was dedicated toa school for young scientists. It included seven specialist lectures. This school had 28 participants. Also, twopopular science lectures were held. A major outcome of
the IAU Symposium was community engagement anddevelopment of new collaborations among participants.
which will enhance capacity building efforts, especially

Grzegorz
Michalekin developing countries. The Organizing Committee isgrateful to IAU, The Ministry of Science and Higher
Education Republic of Poland, SCOSTEP/PRESTO andNASA GSFC for supporting the conference activities.

Figure 1. A group photo of the participants of 388 IAU
Symposium.

Meeting Report 2:

TRENDS 2024
Upcoming Meetings
Announcement
10

Juan A. Añel1, 2, 3, Liying Qian2, 4, Laura de la Torre1, 2, 3
1Local Organizing Committee
2Scientific Organizing Committee
3EPhysLab, CIM-UVigo, Universidade de Vigo, Ourense, Spain
4High Altitude Observatory, NCAR, Boulder, CO, USA

Juan A. Añel

Liying Qian

Laura de la
Torre

T

he 12th International Workshop on Long-Term
Changes and Trends in the Atmosphere was held atUniversidade de Vigo in Ourense, Galicia, Spain, with75 scientists from around the world. The event focusedon long-term atmospheric changes in the stratosphere,
mesosphere, thermosphere, and ionosphere using satellite and ground-based observations and modeling. Sixty-one oral and poster presentations were delivered, withseventeen presented online in a hybrid format. All
presentations were recorded and are available online forregistered participants, along with slides and posters.
The workshop’s outcomes will be disseminated througha special issue in Annales Geophysicae to maximize
their impact within the scientific community. More details and the full program can be found on the workshop's website: trends2024.uvigo.es.

SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 40

Figure 1. Group photo of attendants to the workshop
on the morning of Monday 6 May 2024.

Article

Meeting Report 3:

The ESPD summer school

MatejaDumbović

Istvan Ballai

Highlight on Young Scientists

Istvan Ballai1 and Mateja Dumbović2
1University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
2Hvar Observatory, Faculty of Geodesy, University of Zagreb

T

Figure 1. A group photo of the participants and someof the lecturers.

Meeting Reporthe 1st European Solar Physics Division (ESPD)
summer school intended to PhD students carryingout research in the field of solar and solar-terrestrial
physics was organised in the period 29/04-03/05 2024
in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The theme of the school focussed on "Energisation and heating in the solar plasma", outlining the mechanisms which may operate toproduce the solar wind, to heat the corona and to drive
the transient events observed in the solar atmosphere,
such as flares and coronal mass ejections. The school
was organised by ESPD led by the president Istvan Ballai, with Mateja Dumbovic from Hvar Observatory Croatia as the main local organiser. The school hosted 10
lecturers and 31 students from 14 different countries
and was sponsored by SCOSTEP and European Space
Agency. More information can be found at the school
website: https://oh.geof.unizg.hr/index.php/en/meetings/
espd-school-2024

Meeting Report 4:

UN/Germany Workshop on ISWI

T

Daniela Banyś

and forecasting methods. Further material can be foundhere:
https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/psa/
schedule/2024/2024-iswi-workshop.html

Announcement

he United Nations / Germany Workshop on theInternational Space Weather Initiative: Preparing
for the Solar Maximum organized by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), andsupported by the Institute for Solar-Terrestrial Physics
of the German Aerospace Center (DLR-SO) and theInternational Committee on Global Navigation Satellite
Systems (ICG), was held in Neustrelitz, Germany from10 to 14 June 2024. We thank SCOSTEP/PRESTO for
their support and contribution to a successful workshop.
With a total of 85 participants from over 30 different
countries the workshop encompassed over 50 talks and
17 posters.

Upcoming Meetings

Daniela Banyś1
1German Aerospace Center (DLR), Neustrelitz, GermanyT

he aim of ISWI is to strengthen international coordination and cooperation on space weather products
and services, e.g., deployment of instruments and supporting research in developing nations. It serves as platform for developing operational analysis, modelling,

Figure 1. Group photo of the excursion to the Historical Technical Museum in Peenemünde.

SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 4011

Article
ArticleMeeting Report 5:

The Combined 9th Meeting on Vertical Coupling in the Atmosphere-Ionosphere System (VCAIS) and the 6th ANtarctic Gravity Wave Instrument Network Meeting (ANGWIN)

Highlight on Young Scientists

William Ward1 and the Scientific Organizing Committee
1University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada

Meeting ReportThis year, the biennial Vertical Coupling in the Atmosphere-Ionosphere System (VCAIS and the Antarctic Gravity Wave Instrument Network Meeting(ANGWIN) groups joined for a meeting from June 2 -7
at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton,
NB , Canada. The objective of the meeting was to provide a venue for discussions and collaborations between
scientists involved in studying the coupling and associated mechanisms linking the atmosphere, ionosphereand magnetosphere. The meeting was attended by over
30 participants (close to half were students or early career scientists). Five tutorial sessions were held which
covered the observation techniques and phenomena ofimportance to understanding coupling processes linking
the upper atmosphere/ionosphere to the lower atmosphere. 27 scientific papers were presented and a special
issue for the meeting is being organised. The organizers
are grateful for the financial support from SCOSTEP/PRESTO/ IUGG/IAGA and the University of New
Brunswick which made this meeting possible.

Upcoming Meetings
Announcement
12

William Ward

SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 40

Figure 1. A group photograph of the participants at the
VCAIS/ANGWIN Meeting in Fredericton, Canada(Missing L. Chang). (Photograph courtesy of A. Issawi.)

Upcoming meetings related to SCOSTEP
Location

ArticleConference

Date

Contact Information

International Colloquium on Equatorial and Low
Latitude Ionosphere (ICELLI) 2024

Jul. 29-Aug. 2, 2024 Ile-Ife, Nigeria

XXXII IAU General AssemblyAug. 6-15, 2024

Cape Town,
South Africa

https://astronomy2024.org/

11th SCAR Open Science Conference

Aug. 19-23, 2024

Pucón, Chile

https://scar.org/scar-news/osc2024-draft-list

A COSPAR CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP

Aug. 19-30, 2024

Samarkand,Uzbekistan

https://
cospar2024samarkand.samdu.uz/
index.php

THE ORGANISATION OF A SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE: Second Solar MHD conference: Informing
MHD simulations from observations

Sep. 2-5, 2024

Tenerife, Spain

https://pdg.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/
seminars-and-conferences/solarmhd-2024

16th International Workshop on Technical andScientific Aspects of iMST Radar and Lidar (MST16/ Sep. 9-13, 2024
iMST3)

Kühlungsborn, Rostock, Germany

https://www.iap-kborn.de/en/
news/events/mst16/

ESPM-17

Sep. 9-13, 2024

Turin, Italy

https://indico.ict.inaf.it/event/255
3/2024 ISWI International School

Sep. 16-20, 2024

Kathmandu, Nepal

https://nps.org.np/

https://arcsstee.org.ng/
international-colloquium/

11th VERSIM Workshop

Sep. 30-Oct. 4, 2024

Breckenridge,
Colorado, USA

https://ccar.colorado.edu/
versim2024/

Organization of the Ninth International Space Climate Symposium (SC9)Oct. 1-4, 2024

Nagoya, Japan

https://www.isee.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~spaceclimate9/

Nainital, India

European Space Weather Week

Coimbra, Portugal

Nov. 4-8, 2024

Upcoming Meetings

Solar cycle variability: From understanding to makOct. 14-18, 2024
ing prediction

Meeting Report

Maseno, Kenya

Highlight on Young Scientists

Space Weather and Upper Atmospheric Data analSep. 23-27, 2024
ysis Training Workshop for East African Community

https://esww2024.org/

Please send the information of upcoming meetings to the newsletter editors.

Announcement

SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 40

13

Announcement 1:

ArticleSCOSTEP 2024 Distinguished Scientist AwardSCOSTEP is pleased to announce that the2024 Distinguished Scientist Award is given toHighlight on Young Scientists

Professor Jie Zhang
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

Meeting Report
Upcoming Meetings

Citation: Prof. Jie Zhang has made outstanding contributions to our understanding of the solar eruptions andcoronal mass ejections, and their geoeffectiveness. He established a clear solar-terrestrial causal-effect chain
for coronal mass ejections.

Prof. Jie Zhang obtained BSc in astronomy from the
University of Nanjing, China in 1990, MSc in astrophysics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1993,
and PhD from the University of Maryland, USA in
1999. He is full professor at the Department of Physics
and Astronomy of George Mason University.

He has made outstanding contributions to our understanding of the solar eruptions and their geoeffectiveness using EUV, white light and radio observations
and in-situ solar wind plasma and magnetic field measurements. His research work has provided insights on
the formation of flux ropes in coronal mass ejections(CMEs), the relationship between CMEs and flares, andsolar and interplanetary causes of geomagnetic storms,
and tackled many puzzles in the formation of the flux
rope in CMEs, the relationship between CMEs andflares, and solar and interplanetary causes of geomagnetic storms. He established a clear solar-terrestrial
causal-effect chain of CMEs. For the first time, he presented the clear temporal correlation between CMEs andflares, clearly depicting how the two most powerful solar eruptive phenomena are coupled. This finding waschecked and confirmed by many follow-up studies. Another important contribution of Prof. Jie Zhang was on
the solar and interplanetary sources of major geomagnetic storms. In addition to the aforementioned contributions, he also carried out many pioneer works on theformation of magnetic flux rope in the low corona dur-

Announcement
14

Jie Zhang

SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 40

ing a CME, the eruptive and confined flares, the magnetic helicity budget for CMEs and so on. All thesestudies made significant contributions to the research
field of solar-terrestrial physics and earned his high reputation in the community.

H

e has an excellent publication record with 8209
citations (h-index 46). His 2001 paper on the temporal relationship between CMEs and flares has nearly
800 citations. His 2005 paper on the solar and interplanetary sources of major geomagnetic stores has nearly
700 citations. He has a strong record of teaching students, and has mentored 13 PhD students. He is the associate chair of research at George Mason University
Department of Physics and Astronomy. He also cofounded the Space Weather Laboratory at George Mason University.

He has provided excellent leadership and support to
SCOSTEP, serving as the chair of SCOSTEP/
VarSITI/ISEST program from 2013-2018. He is thecurrent co-chair of SCOSTEP PRESTO program andserves as the vice chair of the COSPAR Commission(2020-2024).

For all of his accomplishments, Professor Jie Zhang
has contributed at the highest level within the fieldof SCOSTEP science and he is most deserving of the
SCOSTEP Distinguished Scientist Award.

Announcement 2:

ArticleSCOSTEP 2024 Distinguished Young Scientist AwardSCOSTEP is pleased to announce that the2024 Distinguished Young Scientist Award is given toHighlight on Young Scientists

Dr. Man Hua
UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Man Hua

Citation: Her work has made fundamental contributions to the understanding of the nature and interaction ofvarious plasma waves by using complex numerical simulations of radiation belt dynamics with global diffusion codes and observations of plasma waves from spacecraft such as the Van Allen Probes.

DSF

or all of these accomplishments, Dr. Man Hua ismost deserving of the SCOSTEP Distinguished
Young Scientist Award.

Upcoming Meetings

he received her PhD 3 years ago. Her work focuseson the Earth's Van Allen radiation belts. Her work
has made fundamental contributions concerning the nature and interaction of various plasma waves by using
complex numerical simulations of radiation belt dynamics with global diffusion codes and observations of plasma waves from spacecraft such as the Van Allen
Probes. Her 2022 paper 'Upper Limit of Outer Radiation
Belt Electron Acceleration Driven by Whistler-Mode
Chorus Waves' addresses the question first posed in
1966: 'How intense could the radiation belt ever get?'.
The answer was limited by observations available at thetime. Dr. Hua developed a new theory testing using cur-rent and recent observations showing how and why theradiation belt fluxes achieve their uppermost values. Her
exceptional research is highly productive with an excellent publication record. She has published 35 peerreviewed research articles, with 13 as the lead author.
These publications have more than 500 citations. She
succeeded in winning an NSF grant, on which she is theprincipal investigator. She has won a number of awards
including Best PhD Dissertation award (one of onlyfive); outstanding final-year graduate student, IAGA
early career award, Academic Star Award (1 of only 8,
School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University),
outstanding poster and student presentations Award, andUCLA Chancellor’s Award for Postdoctoral Research.
She is a member of the American Geophysical Union,
European Geosciences Union and Chinese GeophysicalSociety.

Meeting Reportr. Man Hua obtained B.Eng degree from the
School of Electronic Information, Wuhan University, China, in 2016 and her PhD degree from the Department of Space Physics, Wuhan University in 2021.
Since July 2021 she has been working as a postdoctoral
scholar in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic
Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA.

Announcement

SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 40

15

The purpose of the SCOSTEP/PRESTO newsletter is to promote communication among scientists related to solar-terrestrial physics and the
SCOSTEP’s PRESTO program.
The editors would like to ask you to submit the following articles to the SCOSTEP/PRESTO newsletter.
Our newsletter has five categories of the articles:
1. Articles— Each article has a maximum of 500 words length and four figures/photos (at least two figures/photos).
With the writer’s approval, the small face photo will be also added.
On campaign, ground observations, satellite observations, modeling, etc.
2. Meeting reports—Each meeting report has a maximum of 150 words length and one photo from the meeting.
With the writer’s approval, the small face photo will be also added.
On workshop/conference/ symposium report related to SCOSTEP/PRESTO
3. Highlights on young scientists— Each highlight has a maximum of 300 words length and two figures.
With the writer’s approval, the small face photo will be also added.
On the young scientist’s own work related to SCOSTEP/PRESTO
4. Announcement— Each announcement has a maximum of 200 words length.
Announcements of campaign, workshop, etc.

5. Meeting schedule
Category 3 (Highlights on young scientists) helps both young scientists and SCOSTEP/PRESTO members to know each other. Please contact
the editors if you know any recommended young scientists who are willing to write an article on this category.
TO SUBMIT AN ARTICLE
Articles/figures/photos can be emailed to the Newsletter Secretary, Ms. Mai Asakura (asakura_at_isee.nagoya-u.ac.jp). If you have any questions or problem, please do not hesitate to ask us.
SUBSCRIPTION - SCOSTEP MAILING LISTThe PDF version of the SCOSTEP/PRESTO Newsletter is distributed through the SCOSTEP-all mailing list. If you want to be included in themailing list to receive future information of SCOSTEP/PRESTO, please send e-mail to “scostep_at_bc.edu” or “scosteprequest_at_bc.edu” (replace “_at_” by “@”) with your name, affiliation, and topic of interest to be included.

Editors:

Kazuo Shiokawa (shiokawa_at_nagoya-u.jp)
SCOSTEP President,
Center for International Collaborative Research (CICR),
Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research (ISEE), Nagoya University,
Nagoya, Japan
Keith Groves (keith.groves_at_bc.edu)
SCOSTEP Scientific Secretary,
Boston College, Boston, MA, USA

Ramon Lopez (relopez_at_uta.edu)
PRESTO chair,
University of Texas at Arlington, TX, USA

Newsletter Secretary:

Mai Asakura (asakura_at_isee.nagoya-u.ac.jp)
Center for International Collaborative Research (CICR),
Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research (ISEE), Nagoya University,
Nagoya, Japan

PRESTO co-chairs
and Pillar co-leaders:Odele Coddington (co-chair), Jie Zhang (co-chair), Allison Jaynes (Pillar 1 co-leader), Emilia
Kilpua (Pillar 1 co-leader), Spiros Patsourakos (Pillar 1 co-leader), Loren Chang (Pillar 2 coleader), Duggirala Pallamraju (Pillar 2 co-leader), Nick Pedatella (Pillar 2 co-leader), Jie Jiang(Pillar 3 co-leader), and Stergios Misios (Pillar 3 co-leader)

SCOSTEP Bureau:

Kazuo Shiokawa (President), Bernd Funke (Vice President), Nat Goplaswamy (Past President),
Keith Groves (Scientific Secretary, ex-officio), Mamoru Ishii (WDS), Jorge Chau (URSI), Valery Nakariakov (IAU), Yoshizumi Miyoshi (COSPAR), Renata Lukianova (IAGA/IUGG), Peter
Pilewskie (IAMAS), Cristina Mandrini (IUPAP), and Lucilla Alfonsi (SCAR)
website: https://scostep.org.

16

SCOSTEP/PRESTO NewsletterVol. 40