Abstract. We have assembled and tested, in real time, a space weather modeling system that starts at the Sun and extends to the Earth through a set of coupled, modular components. We describe recent efforts to improve the Hakamada-Akasofu-Fry (HAF) solar wind model that is presently used in our geomagnetic storm prediction system. We also present some results of these improvement efforts. In a related paper, Akasofu

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The 3D structure of the solar wind and its evolution in time are needed for heliospheric modeling and interpretation of energetic neutral atoms observations. We present a model to retrieve the solar wind structure in heliolatitude and time using all available and complementary data sources. We determine the heliolatitude structure of solar wind speed on a yearly time grid over the past 1.5 solar cycles based on remote-sensing observations of interplanetary scintillations, in situ out-of-ecliptic measurements from Ulysses, and in situ in-ecliptic measurements from the OMNI 2 database. Since in situ out-of-ecliptic information on the solar wind density structure is not available apart from the Ulysses data, we derive correlation formulae between the solar wind speed and density and use the information on the solar wind speed from interplanetary scintillation observations to retrieve the 3D structure of the solar wind density. With the variations of solar wind density and speed in time and heliolatitude available, we calculate variations in solar wind flux, dynamic pressure, and charge-exchange rate in the approximation of stationary H atoms.

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[1] The evolution of solar wind speed distribution during the period 1985-2008, which covers two solar cycles (22 and 23), has been investigated using multistation interplanetary scintillation (IPS) measurements at 327 MHz. The results obtained here clearly demonstrate that fast (slow) wind areas increase (decrease) systematically as the solar activity diminishes, reaching the maximum (minimum) value at the minimum phase. The intermediate-speed wind areas appear to remain constant over the solar cycle. The preponderance of slow wind at low latitudes was confirmed from our IPS observations throughout the period, while a slight increase in the fast wind area was revealed in the declining to minimum phases. In contrast, the high-latitude solar wind was mostly dominated by the fast wind except for a few years around the maxima. An important point to note is the clear difference in the solar wind speed distribution between the 1996 and 2008 minima. The fast wind areas in 2008 showed a marked increase at low latitudes, which is consistent with in situ observations at 1 AU, and a distinct decrease at high latitudes, resulting in a net decrease at all latitudes, as compared with those in 1996. This difference is ascribed to the weaker polar fields during the 2008 minimum. An excellent positive (negative) correlation between fast (slow) wind areas and the polar fields is revealed from a comparison between IPS and magnetograph observations. The results obtained here suggest a strong control of the Sun's polar field in determining the solar wind acceleration and structure.