An abridged history of federal involvement in space weather forecasting

Caldwell, Becaja M.; McCarron, Eoin D.; Jonas, Seth

doi:10.1002/2017sw001626

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 63 publications

(64 reference statements)

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“…This includes identifying the most useful metrics, accuracy, and format of information. As technology becomes more susceptible space weather, the challenge for researchers is to communicate clearly to users the capabilities of their research and how it can be beneficial for their needs (e.g., Baker et al, 2008;Caldwell et al, 2017;Cassak et al, 2017, and references therein).…”

Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application usability levels: a framework for tracking project product progress

Halford

Kellerman

Garcia‐Sage

et al. 2019

J. Space Weather Space Clim.

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Halford et al: Application Usability LevelsThe space physics community continues to grow and become both more interdisciplinary and more intertwined with commercial and government operations. This has created a need for a framework to easily identify what projects can be used for specific applications and how close the tool is to routine autonomous or on-demand implementation and operation. We propose the Application Usability Level (AUL) framework and publicizing AULs to help the community quantify the progress of successful applications, metrics, and validation efforts. This framework will also aid the scientific community by supplying the type of information needed to build off of previously published work and publicizing the applications and requirements needed by the user communities. In this paper, we define the AUL framework, outline the milestones required for progression to higher AULs, and provide example projects utilizing the AUL framework. This work has been completed as part of the activities of the Assessment of Understanding and Quantifying Progress working group which is part of the International Forum for Space Weather Capabilities Assessment.The existing frameworks each focus on tracking a particular type of product, and so do not fully meet the needs of the heliophysics community. Space physics products include observational data, derived indices, modeled outputs, and more. These products are often used together for different purposes. Each user will have different requirements for the application in terms of the type of product, robustness, and accuracy.The unique needs of the space weather community led to the modification of existing research-to-application communication frameworks to create the Application Usability Level (AUL) framework. Applying AULs to model and data analysis efforts can benefit space physics research. These benefits include improving access to collaborators, project transparency, and communication of project results. As the requirements and user interests for each application are unique, the AUL framework uses specifically-tuned metrics. For instance, a research user interested in upper atmospheric coupling may want to know the flux and characteristic energy of precipitating electrons. Similarly, a satellite industry partner may want to predict satellite drag during a geomagnetic storm. A single research project may be able to provide both users with the products they need. However, the different outputs will require different metrics, implementation strategies, and time frames for implementation. Since the AUL framework is highly adaptable, it can help a single research project meet and track both of these user needs.The AUL framework can bolster communication between researchers, users, funding bodies, and stakeholders. Using a standard framework provides a clear path for users and researchers to follow. This improves efficiency assuring that all components from the researchers' project to the user needs are considered. It enables communication about a proposal's dev...

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Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application usability levels: a framework for tracking project product progress

Halford

Kellerman

Garcia‐Sage

et al. 2019

J. Space Weather Space Clim.

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“…As the potential impact of space weather on critical infrastructure has become more widely known, the understanding of space weather and its impacts has become a subject of legislative concern in the United States (Caldwell et al, 2017) as well as other countries (Cabinet Office, 2015). Space weather and space physics also have broader impacts, beyond the commonly cited spacecraft anomalies and GICs (Cassak et al, 2017).…”

Section: Imperatives From Policy and Operationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges and Opportunities in Magnetospheric Space Weather Prediction

Morley

2020

Space Weather

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Space Weather is the study of the dynamics of the coupled Solar‐Terrestrial environment, as these dynamics impact technological systems and human activity. This paper reviews a selection of the advances, challenges, and new opportunities for magnetospheric space weather, and while the focus is on specific phenomena, many other aspects of space weather will have similar challenges and needs. As a scientific field with direct applications, the field of space weather is partly driven by imperatives from both policy and operations. We provide an introduction to some of the context in which the field exists and discuss how this might shape future developments and norms within the space weather enterprise. We briefly examine benchmarking, as a policy and operationally driven activity, as it provides immediate societal relevance and an opportunity to stretch scientific understanding. As numerical space weather prediction now becomes routine, and exascale computing is in the near future, we identify challenges relating to computational expense and big data, capturing and accounting for uncertainties, and specification of boundary conditions. Here, as with the observations supporting numerical space weather prediction, the key challenge lies in extending the lead time of predictions. We also discuss the role of data, particularly in regard to model validation and empirical modeling. Due to the growing societal impact of space weather, we also examine the relationships between space weather and its terrestrial counterpart and look at the importance of continuous evaluation, monitoring progress in predictive capability, and communication with researchers, forecasters, and end users.

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“…Bonadonna et al () continued that discussion in their RSC manuscript, reviewing 21 years of efforts by a coalition of federal agencies, industry, and the academic community to nurture a space weather enterprise. Providing a longer, but somewhat‐abridged view, Caldwell et al () chronicled much of the U.S. federal involvement in space environment/weather research that underpinned the NSWP and its successor, the Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation Task Force. Likewise, Bhardwaj et al () traced the history of Indian observations related to the space environment from the mid‐1850 to present.…”

Section: History Tutorials and Reviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%