When a moderate geomagnetic storm struck Earth on 3 February 2022, its impact was immediate and costly. Shortly after launch, 38 of 49 newly deployed Starlink satellites were lost as increased atmospheric drag caused by the storm prevented them from reaching their operational orbit. The event highlighted a growing challenge: even relatively modest space weather …
The main goal of the Swarm-AWARE project is to apply innovative techniques and deliver new scientific discoveries of the Earth system, pertinent to space weather (SWE) and natural hazards (NH) effects. Relevant achievements are made through a systematic investigation of Swarm-derived indices related to magnetospheric substorm activity, field-aligned currents (FACs), magnetic storm activity, ultra-low frequency …
The advent of continuous geomagnetic monitoring from space over more than 25 years has led to a renewed understanding of the geomagnetic signal, with the discovery of hydromagnetic waves in the fluid core. These carry information not only on the mechanisms that sustain the geodynamo, but also potentially on the solid mantle as well as …
Using data from ESA’s Swarm satellites, together with those from the US–German GRACE mission and from ground-based instrument networks, scientists have measured atmospheric density changes resulting from auroral Joule heating during 276 geomagnetic storms between 2010 and 2024. Such dramatic shifts in Earth’s upper atmosphere associated to geomagnetic activity are described as “hot flushes.” These …
Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) waves are electromagnetic plasma waves in near-Earth space, which play an important role in outer radiation belt dynamics. Specifically, these waves remove electrons from the outer radiation belt by scattering them into the Earth’s atmosphere. Energetic so-called “killer” electrons trapped in the outer belt pose dangers to satellites. Understanding the processes …
The research project aims at providing advanced models of the dynamic ionosphere, which will address plasma irregularities, allow for studies of turbulent structuring, ionospheric plasma dynamics, and will also contribute to the development of forecasting of space weather effects based on in-situ satellite data. The team aims at using novel modelling approaches as well as …
Satellite magnetic field observations have the potential to provide information on dynamics, heat content and salinity throughout the ocean. It is well established that the ocean generates a time-varying magnetic field that depends on its motions and electrical conductivity structure. With ten years of high quality observations available from the Swarm satellite trio, and with …
FBURST aims at better understanding the ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling based on multi-spacecraft observations that can monitor the status of the high latitude ionospheric field aligned current system (FAC) and the conditions in the geomagnetic tail. In particular, this project focusses on the fast plasma jets detected at more than 60000 km from the Earth in the …
In the JOIN project, the team will develop new tools for estimating the amount of Joule Heating in the Northern auroral regions, and carry out a detailed investigation of its consequences on the neutral atmosphere at satellite altitudes. The high-latitude auroral ionosphere is connected by magnetic field lines to a large part of the magnetospheric …
ESA’s SMOS mission data is at the forefront of space weather applications, impacting air navigation, solar flare characterization, space weather modeling, and ionospheric electron content mapping. The mission, characterised by its Microwave Imaging Radiometer using Aperture Synthesis (MIRAS) instrument, provides valuable L-band measurements in this context, as demonstrated in the ESA SMOS-Flares project. Practical demonstrations …
