4

Complementary and Collaborative International Activities

While numerous countries engage individually on space weather activities, there are also several intergovernmental organizational groups focused on space weather. These include the United Nations (UN) World Meteorological Organization, the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the UN International Civil Aviation Organization, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In addition, the International Space Environment Service (ISES), a collaborative network of 21 space weather service-providing organizations around the globe, provides a broad range of services, including forecasts, warnings, and alerts of solar, magnetospheric, and ionospheric conditions.

The speakers below spoke at either the June or September portions of the workshop.^1,2 A summary of their presentations and discussions among all participants follows.

• Mamoru Ishii, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Space Weather Forecast Center, Japan, “Japan’s Space Weather Plans”
• Juha-Pekka Luntama, Space Situational Programme Office, European Space Agency (ESA), European Space Operations Centre, “ESA’s Space Weather System Plans”
• David Boteler, Canadian Space Weather Forecast Centre, “Space Weather Monitoring in Canada”

The Canadian Space Weather Forecast Center in Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is the Government of Canada’s provider of space weather services. The forecast center monitors, analyzes, and forecasts space weather and dispatches warnings and alerts across Canada. The F10.7 radio flux has been measured consistently in Canada since 1947, first at Ottawa, Ontario, and then at the Penticton Radio Observatory in British Columbia.

A new multi-frequency solar radio telescope is currently being commissioned. In support of the Canadian power grid, NRCan operates a broadly spaced network of 14 magnetometers that spans Canada. Similar to the U.S. magnetometer distribution, the Canadian network coverage is not sufficient to accurately

___________________

¹ In addition to the activities described by these participants, there is a growing number of space weather centers being initiated abroad. For example, the South African Space Agency is standing up a space weather center, DLR-institute of solar-terrestrial physics in Neustrelitz is establishing a space weather program, Britain has the UKMET Office Space Weather Operations Centre, and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute has a space weather center.

² Links to the presentations can be found at https://www.nationalacademies.org/spacewx-phaseI-presentations.

specify power systems effects. However, three different networks of research magnetometers currently supplement the NRCan network, providing temporary support to NRCan’s operational network.

NRCan monitors the ionosphere to assess degradation to communications in support of aviation, especially polar operations. A network of riometers operated by the University of Calgary provide key ionosphere information on high-frequency communications. NRCan have deployed additional riometers at their magnetometer stations, significantly improving the network coverage. The Canadian Geodetic Survey operates a network of GNSS receivers, which are augmented by a network of scintillation receivers operated by the University of New Brunswick as part of the Canadian High Arctic Ionospheric Network. Similar to the United States, Canada is heavily dependent on observations from research instruments. The proposed tundra orbit Canadian Arctic Observing Mission, primarily focusing on climate and meteorology needs, may provide NASA and NOAA opportunities for space weather sensors.

David Boteler, Head of the Geomagnetic Laboratory of NRCan, led the discussion of Canada’s space weather monitoring in Canada, providing the following conclusions:

• Ground networks often taken for granted—but most do not have long term funding;
• Cost-effective for space weather monitoring;
• Provide direct measure of the parameters relevant to effects on critical infrastructure;
• Limited resources for operational space weather monitoring;
• Used research facilities to fill the gaps—not sustainable in the long term
• Increasing requirements for space weather monitoring
• New opportunities (e.g., multi-frequency riometers).

Japan has implemented the Project for Solar Terrestrial Environment Prediction, which is a nation-wide project in Japan for space weather and space climate study involving 20 institutes and 100 researchers. This project brings together the user, operations, and research communities to establish the basis for next-generation space weather forecasting. This project seeks to answer some of the fundamental questions concerning the solar‐terrestrial environmental system. The space weather forecasting function in Japan resides in the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). The NICT is a UN International Civil Aviation Organization center responsible for providing space weather services in support of global aviation. The center began 24/7 operational space weather services in December 2019, and it is in the process of developing operational models including a radio propagation model and radiation exposure model. Japan has recently completed a survey of potential impacts of space weather on Japanese infrastructure and the economy. The survey included a 1/100 year storm scenario that would likely result in partial power blackouts in Japan.

NICT is exploring new, operational, space environment sensors, including an ion and electron detector and magnetometer for monitoring high-energy particles and radiation belts; satellite charging sensor; and an ionospheric imager to monitor global distribution of plasma bubbles. It also hopes to sustain, and perhaps extend, ground-based observations in Southeast Asia. Japan will also cooperate across space station, Artemis, and Lunar Gateway projects, and consequently its space weather research will soon expand outside Earth’s magnetosphere.

Space weather in ESA, within its Space Safety Programme, is based on the following three elements: (1) ground observations, (2) a Distributed Space Weather Sensor System (D3S), and (3) satellite systems positioned at the Lagrange point L5.

ESA will take on a role of improving the coordination and availability of existing ground-based observations. These observing capabilities are largely funded through national programs and may, or may not, already be part of an existing network such as InterMagnet. ESA will focus on improving the availability of the data to facilitate easier and more reliable access to the wider space weather community.

Within Earth’s magnetosphere, ESA is implementing D3S (Figure 4.2). This will initially include magnetic field, neutral/charged particle, plasma and micro-particle environment measurements, and auroral

imaging utilizing hosted payloads as part of the D3S. Two such hosted payloads have recently been launched: a versatile magnetometer on the Korean Geo-Kompsat-2A satellite and a radiation monitor hosted on EDRS-C. In addition, small, dedicated missions may be used to complement hosted payload instruments.

ESA plans a mission, scheduled for launch in 2027, to the Lagrange point L5 to observe the Sun and the space in between the Sun and Earth. This gives visibility of the propagation of coronal mass ejections and views of the solar disk before it rotates into a geoeffective position. Instruments planned for the L5 mission include a magnetograph, heliospheric imager, coronagraph, EUV coronal imager, radiation monitor, plasma analyzer, magnetometer, and X-ray flux monitor.