8-2. Research Centers

Center for International Collaborative Research (CICR)

 Coordinated international programs Ground-based observation networks and satelliteprojects
 Hosting international workshops
 International exchange of foreign and Japanese
researchers and students Capacity-building courses and schools in developingcountries
 Observatories

To promote international collaborative studies, the Center for International Collaborative Research (CICR) provides
leadership to comprehend the physical mechanisms of phenomena occurring in the space–Sun–Earth environmental systemand their interactions. The CICR encourages programs to develop ground-based observation networks and international
satellite projects and to host international workshops or conferences. It also supports international exchanges between
overseas and Japanese researchers and students and encourages capacity-building activities in developing countries throughtraining courses and schools. CICR took over the Geospace Research Center of the former Solar-Terrestrial Environment
Laboratory at Nagoya University. It was initially established in October 2015 for a 5-year fixed term until FY2020. However,another 5-year term (FY2021–2026) for continued activity was approved by Nagoya University.
The phenomena contained in solar activity have various timescales, from solar flares and coronal holes, to the 11-year
cycle, and further long-term variations. World scientists are greatly interested in these types of solar activities and theirconsequences on the Earth’s geospace environment and climate change. The Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial
Physics (SCOSTEP), under the International Science Council (ISC), commenced a 5-year international program entitled“Predictability of the variable Solar–Terrestrial Coupling (PRESTO)” for 2020–2024. The main objective of this program isto identify the predictability of the variable solar–terrestrial coupling performance metrics using modeling, measurements,
and data analysis while strengthening the communication between scientists and users. The President of SCOSTEP is also amember of the CICR and is responsible for operating this international program. On January 8, 2021, ISEE and SCOSTEP
exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding to define the conditions under which ISEE will contribute to SCOSTEPactivities. In agreement with this Memorandum of Understanding, the CICR publishes the SCOSTEP/PRESTO newsletter
every three months, organizes online seminars and capacity-building lectures, and coordinates international symposiums
related to SCOSTEP/PRESTO. The CICR also contributes to other international programs related to the space–Sun–Earthenvironment, such as Future Earth and the Integrated Land Ecosystem-Atmosphere Processes Study (iLEAPS). Since 2016,
the CICR has participated in or operates ground-based observation projects, such as the EISCAT radar project, OMTIs, theISEE

VLF/ELF

andmagnetometer

network, SuperDARN radar network(including the Hokkaido HF radars), andthe Arctic Challenge for Sustainability
operation office. It also has four domestic
observatories at Moshiri, Rikubetsu, Fuji,
andKagoshima,observations

ofwhichthesolarconduct
wind,geomagnetic field, and upper atmosphere.
Some of these observations have been
conducted for more than 30 years.

Observation sites and ISEE’s overseas collaborating organizations compiled by CICR.

64 Institute for Space–Earth Environmental Research

8-2. Research Centers

Main Activities in FY2022
In FY2022, CICR performed the following international collaborative
research: 1) Twenty International Joint Research programs for domestic
scientists; 2) twenty-three ISEE International Joint Research programs, inviting
researchers from overseas; 3) two ISEE/CICR International Workshops; 13) ten
International Travel Support programs for field and laboratory experiments bystudents and early career scientists; 14) four International Technical Exchangeprograms; 15) two ISEE International School Support programs; and 16) two
International Travel Support programs for students. Two designated professors
from overseas were hired through cross-appointments with U.S. universities andinstitutions. Four English-speaking staff members were hired to provide theadministrative support. In collaboration with the SCOSTEP, the CICR hosted
four international online seminars and four online lectures for students inFY2022. It has also supported six graduate students in their presentations atinternational conferences. Through the PRESTO program (2020–2024), theCICR published four newsletters in FY2022 (April, July, October, and January).
The CICR also supports three international schools in Nigeria, Spain, andSCOSTEP/PRESTO Newsletter vol. 34(January 2023)

Finland. Nine students from India, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, and the United States visited the ISEE for three months forcollaborative research under the SCOSTEP Visiting Scholar program.
The EISCAT radar project was undertaken in collaboration with a group from the NIPR, and ten EISCAT special
experiments proposed by Japanese colleagues were conducted. Discussions about the EISCAT_3D radar were organizedwith foreign EISCAT associate members. The PWING project continued running eight stations around the North Pole atMLATs of ~60° connecting the OMTIs, ISEE magnetometer, and ELF/VLF networks. A research project entitled “PanArctic Water-Carbon Cycles (PAWCs)” was funded for 2019–2024. PAWCs are designed to integrate atmospheric–terrestrial
water and carbon cycles in northern Eurasia, for which very limited data on the fluxes of greenhouse gases exist.
Our four domestic observatories will continue to operate until FY2022. The Moshiri Observatory became an
unmanned observatory in FY2018, but has continued to run electromagnetic instruments, such as auroral photometers,
magnetometers, and ELF/VLF receivers. The fluxgate and induction magnetometers will be repaired in 2021.
Additionally, continuous measurements of atmospheric black carbon were initiated in FY2022. The Rikubetsu
Observatory operates several spectrometers for comprehensive measurements of ozone and other minor constituents inthe atmosphere, all-sky imagers and photometers for aurora and airglow monitoring, SuperDARN Hokkaido radars forionospheric disturbances, and an ELF atmospheric receiver.
Multistation IPS observations using Fuji, Kiso, andToyokawa antennas were performed between April and December
2021. However, IPS observations at Kiso stopped due to a serious
failure of the antenna and did not restart in this FY, despite
intensive restoration. The Kiso Observatory was opened to thepublic on August 6, 2022.
The Kagoshima Observatory and Sata Station operate an allsky camera, a photometer for airglow detection, VLF/LF radio
wave receivers, and induction magnetometers in collaboration withTohoku University, the University of Electro-Communications,
Chiba University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Rikubetsu Observatory

Institute for Space–Earth Environmental Research 65