| Session Details | |
| Section | ST - Solar & Terrestrial Sciences |
| Session Title | Space Weather Impact On The Ionosphere And Dependent Technologies |
| Main Convener | Prof. Frederick Menk (University of Newcastle, Australia) |
| Co-convener(s) | Dr. Sushil Kumar (University of the South Pacific, Fiji) Prof. Duggirala Pallamraju (Physical Research Laboratory, India) Dr. Brett Carter (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Australia) |
| Session Description | Our economic, social and environmental security depend critically and increasingly on remote sensing, navigation and communication services from space. Space weather – disturbances to the near-Earth space environment resulting from solar activity – poses significant threats to modern space-based and terrestrial technologies. Consequences include compromised satellite operations; disruption to communication links and global navigation and timing services (e.g. GPS); impacts on ionospheric services including over-the-horizon radars and low frequency radio astronomy; and the generation of damaging electrical currents in metallic networks such as power grids and pipelines. A growing reliance on meteorological and climatological data from radio occultation satellites increases the vulnerability to space weather effects. While space weather events may be triggered by solar flares and coronal mass ejections, their effects on the ionosphere vary with latitude and local time and are highly variable. In this session we welcome contributions on experimental observations, empirical and theoretical modelling studies, and forecasting efforts, concerning space weather impacts on the ionosphere and associated services including GPS, remote sensing and radio occultation operations. Papers dealing with monitoring and causes of scintillation, D-region effects associated with severe space weather events, GPS meteorology missions such as COSMIC, and Geomagnetically Induced Currents, are particularly welcome. |