Elsevier

Advances in Space Research

Volume 42, Issue 11, 1 December 2008, Pages 1777-1785
Advances in Space Research

Distributing space weather monitoring instruments and educational materials worldwide for IHY 2007: The AWESOME and SID project

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2007.12.013Get rights and content

Abstract

The International Heliophysical Year (IHY) aims to advance our understanding of the fundamental processes that govern the Sun, Earth, and heliosphere. The IHY Education and Outreach Program is dedicated to inspiring the next generation of space and Earth scientists as well as spreading the knowledge, beauty, and relevance of our solar system to the people of the world. In our Space Weather Monitor project we deploy a global network of sensors to high schools and universities to provide quantitative diagnostics of solar-induced ionospheric disturbances, thunderstorm intensity, and magnetospheric activity. We bring real scientific instruments and data in a cost-effective way to students throughout the world. Instruments meet the objectives of being sensitive enough to produce research-quality data, yet inexpensive enough for placement in high schools and universities. The instruments and data have been shown to be appropriate to, and usable by, high school age and early university students. Data contributed to the Stanford data center is openly shared and partnerships between groups in different nations develop naturally. Students and teachers have direct access to scientific expertise.

The result is a world-wide collaboration of scientists, teachers, and students to investigate the variability of the ionosphere. The research-quality AWESOME (Atmospheric Weather Electromagnetic System of Observation, Modeling, and Education) instruments have been selected as a participating program by the United Nations Basic Space Science Initiative (UNBSSI). The IHY Committee for International Education and Public Outreach has designated the simpler SID (Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance) monitors to be provided to teacher/student teams in each of the 192 countries of the world.

Introduction

How best could we address the goals of the IHY? Could we find a way to bring real scientific instruments and data in a cost-effective way to researchers and students? Through hands-on science, could students relate to the goals of IHY by advancing our understanding of the fundamental processes that govern the Sun, Earth, and heliosphere? Would it inspire the next generation of scientists and help spread the knowledge of our solar system and the exciting process of scientific exploration?

To find out, we undertook a 4 year test program to develop and provide space weather monitoring instruments to high schools and universities throughout the US and at selected sites around the world.

Our two-part program provides a network of space weather monitor sensors to a worldwide team who can perform quantitative investigations of ionospheric disturbances. The network consists of two classes of receivers: (a) a research-grade, electromagnetic receiver sensitive to Very Low Frequencies (VLF, 3–30 kHz) and Extremely Low Frequencies (ELF, 300–3000 Hz), able to detect a broad range of ionospheric phenomena (Fig. 1), and (b) low cost monitors sensitive to solar flare-induced VLF sudden ionospheric disturbances and appropriate for student use (Fig. 2). Thus the program features both research and educational components. This paper explains both, emphasizing the educational aspects.

Section snippets

Science objectives

Our chief scientific goal is quantitative comparison of local ionospheric disturbances, magnetospheric activity, and thunderstorm intensity across much of the globe through the method of ELF/VLF monitoring. ELF/VLF monitoring involves the study of three types of signals. The first are VLF transmissions in the 20–30 kHz range, operated by various navies for long-range communications with their submarines. Second, short-duration radiation from lightning strikes, known as radio atmospherics, or

Ionospheric phenomena

A solar flare is a sudden, rapid, and intense variation in brightness occurring when magnetic energy that has built up in the solar atmosphere is suddenly released. Radiation is emitted across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. The energy released during a flare is typically on the order of 1027to 1032 ergs/s. Sudden Ionospheric Disturbances (SIDs) occur in association with solar flares and have a very strong and relatively long-lasting effect on the ionosphere (Thomson and Cliverd, 2001).

The program

Imagine a student watching a severe ionospheric disturbance unfold in real time on their classroom SID detector, and then getting a text message (if the ionosphere isn’t too disturbed) from another time zone across the world wondering whether she’d seen the event in the same way. What would the differences reveal about the way the Earth responded to the flare? With a network of stations, a picture that has never been seen before would form, showing in detail how the ionosphere responds to

Extension to IHY

Because of the success of our test project, our AWESOME monitors have been selected by the IHY United Nations Basic Space Science Initiative (UNBSSI) as a Participating Program (United Nations, 2005). The IHY International Committee for Education and Public Outreach has designated our SID program to be of particular interest for use in their pre-college education program (Rabello-Soares, 2006). AWESOME monitors have already been placed in ten countries and SIDs in twelve countries as beta tests

Summary

Through the Space Weather Monitor Project, we have brought real scientific instruments and data in a cost-effective way to students and researchers throughout the world. Instruments meet the objectives of being sensitive enough to produce research-quality data, yet inexpensive enough for placement in high schools and universities. The instruments, data, and supporting educational materials have been shown to be appropriate to, and usable by, high school age and early university students. Data

Acknowledgements

This project was originally developed and funded by the National Science Foundation’s Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling, NSF contract 00-67. Additional funding was provided by NASA contract NNG05GH15G, supporting the MDI instrument onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). SOHO is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA. Further funding was provided by NASA contract NAS5-01239 for the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) instrument for NASA’s Solar

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