Physical Variables by Models or Model Types

AbbyNormal

Physical Variables written by AbbyNormal specification:

The coordinate system consists of

• Longitude Lon with positive vector components meaning eastward,
• Latitude Lat from -90 at the south pole to 90 at the north pole with positive being northward,
• Altitude Alt in km.

Height-integrated quantities in 3D data
available at each position in local time and latitude

• abt*freq* in [dB]: Total absorption in D and E regions at frequency *freq*
• abd*freq* in [dB]: D-region absorption at frequency *freq*
• abe*freq* in [dB]: E-region absorption at frequency *freq*

CalcDeltaB

The magnetic field perturbations in [nT] written by the SWMF model (Bn, Be, Bd) (in geographic or geomagnetic (dipole) coordinates) is the sum of the field contributions in the magnetosphere (with suffix Mhd), field-aligned currents (Fac), and Hall (Hal) and Pedersen (Ped) currents in the ionosphere.

The output variables are:The output variables are:

• B_north: north component of the magnetic field perturbation (sum of all contributions),
• B_east: east component of the magnetic field perturbation (sum of all contributions),
• B_down: down component of the magnetic field perturbation (sum of all contributions),
• B_north_mag: north component of the magnetic field perturbation (magnetosphere MHD only),
• B_east_mag: east component of the magnetic field perturbation (magnetosphere MHD only),
• B_down_mag: down component of the magnetic field perturbation (magnetosphere MHD only),
• B_north_fac: north component of the magnetic field perturbation (field-aligned currents only),
• B_east_fac: east component of the magnetic field perturbation (field-aligned currents only),
• B_down_fac: down component of the magnetic field perturbation (field-aligned currents only),
• B_north_iono: north component of the magnetic field perturbation (currents in ionosphere only); may be split up into **B_north_Iono,SigP **and **B_north_Iono,SigH **for contributions from Pedersen and Hall currents in the ionosphere.
• B_east_Iono: east component of the magnetic field perturbation (currents in ionosphere only); may be split up into **B_east_Iono,SigP **and **B_east_Iono,SigH **for contributions from Pedersen and Hall currents in the ionosphere.
• B_down_Iono: down component of the magnetic field perturbation (currents in ionosphere only); may be split up into **B_down_Iono,SigP **and **B_down_Iono,SigH **for contributions from Pedersen and Hall currents in the ionosphere.

CM5

The magnetic field in [nT] written by the CM5 model (in geodetic coordinates) is the sum of the selected field contributions in the Earth's crust and resulting from ocean tides, ionosphere and magnetosphere currents.The output variables are:

• magnitude or total strength of the magnetic field,
• declination of the magnetic field,
• inclination of the magnetic field. Magnetic poles are located where the inclination is either -90 or +90 degrees.

CTIP

The coordinate system consists of

• Longitude Lon with positive vector components meaning eastward,
• Latitude Lat from -90 at the south pole to 90 at the north pole with positive being northward,
• pressure level IP or height H in [km].

Vector (arrow) plots of the velocities only make sense as:

• vertical cuts (meridional or at constant-latitude) if UseHeight is selected,
• synoptic maps of velocity vectors (over local time and latitude) if plotted at constant height (not constant pressure level IP).

The basic plasma and electrodynamic field variables in 3D are:

• H (height) in [km] corresponding to pressure level number IP
  The height of a pressure level varies spatially and with time. Heights covered start at about 80 km (IP=0) and reach a few hundred km above ground (the maximum found for IP=14, the top layer, is typically between 450 km and 1000 km).
  The height can be used as an alternative 3rd coordinate for plotting.
• Particle number density N in [m^-3] with species identifier (after the "_"):
  • e: electrons,
  • O: oxygen ions,
  • N2: nitrogen molecules,
  • O2: oxygen molecules.
• Neutral gas temperature T_n in [K].
• Mean molecular mass Rmt in [amu].
• Hall and Pedersen conductivities sigma_H, sigma_P in [mho/m].
• Neutral gas velocity Vn in [m/s] with its three components
  • Vn_Lat (meridional; CTIP name "V_x", also named U),
  • Vn_Lon (zonal, longitudinal; CTIP name "V_y", also named V) and
  • Vn_IP (vertical, radial; CTIP name "V_z").
• Ion velocity** Vi **with its three components:
  • Vi_Lat ("Vi_x"),
  • Vi_Lon ("Vi_y"),
  • Vi_IP ("Vi_z") is missing in the model output and assumed to be zero for vector arrow plots.
• sigmaP, sigmaH: Pedersen and Hall conductivities [S/m],

Height-integrated quantities in 3D data
available at each position in local time and latitude (obtained from 3D CTIP variables above)

• NmF2: maximum electron density N_e in [m^-3] in the vertical profile
• HmF2: height in [km] of the maximum of N_e (see NmF2)
• TEC, total electron content, integrated over altitudes between 80 and 2000 km [TECU=10¹⁶ electrons/m²]
• O/N2: ratio of N_O and N_N2 in the vertical column. The ratio is calculated from the pressure level where SH*N_N2=10²¹m^-2 with SH=k_B T_n/(g*m(N2)) being the scale height of the N2 gas species (m(N2)=28 amu). The O-column density is obtained by interpolation at this pressure level using model outputs at pressure levels 8 and 9.

CTIP Timeline

Energy deposition rates written by the CTIPe model (unit of all variables is [GW]):

• P_tot: auroral energy input over both the northern and southern hemispheres
• P_euv,N: extreme ultraviolet solar radiation ( λ < 102.7 nm) integrated over northern hemisphere
• P_euv,S: extreme ultraviolet solar radiation ( λ < 102.7 nm) integrated over southern hemisphere
• P_uv,N: far ultraviolet solar radiation (102.7 nm < λ < 200 nm) integrated over northern hemisphere
• P_uv,S: far ultraviolet solar radiation (102.7 nm < λ < 200 nm) integrated over southern hemisphere
• P_J.E,N: sum of Joule heating and kinetic energy dissipation in northern hemisphere
• P_J.E,S: sum of Joule heating and kinetic energy dissipation in southern hemisphere
• P_Joule,N: Joule heating in the northern hemispheres
• P_Joule,S: Joule heating in the southern hemispheres
• P_kin,N: kinetic energy in the northern hemispheres
• P_kin,S: kinetic energy in the southern hemispheres
• P_kin: kinetic energy in both the southern and northern hemispheres

CTIPe

The coordinate system consists of

• Longitude Lon with positive vector components meaning eastward,
• Latitude Lat from -90 at the south pole to 90 at the north pole with positive being northward,
• pressure level IP or height H in km.

Vector (arrow) plots of the velocities only make sense as:

• vertical cuts (meridional or at constant-latitude) if UseHeight is selected,
• synoptic maps of velocity vectors (over local time and latitude) if plotted at constant height (not constant pressure level IP).

The basic plasma and electrodynamic field variables in 3D are:

• H (height) in [km] corresponding to pressure level number IP
  The height of a pressure level varies spatially and with time. Heights covered start at about 80 km (IP=0) and reach a few hundred km above ground (the maximum found for IP=14, the top layer, is typically between 450 km and 1000 km).
  The height can be used as an alternative 3rd coordinate for plotting.
• Particle number density N in [m-3] with species identifier (after the "_"):
  • e: electrons,
  • O: oxygen ions,
  • N2: nitrogen molecules,
  • O2: oxygen molecules.
  • NO: nitric oxide.
  • NO+: nitric oxide ions.
  • N2+: molecular nitrogen ions.
  • O2+: molecular oxygen ions.
  • N+: atomic nitrogen ions.
  • O+: atomic oxygen ions.
  • H+: atomic hydrogen ions.
• Neutral gas temperature T_n in [K].
• Mean molecular mass Rmt in [amu].
• Hall and Pedersen conductivities sigma_H, sigma_P in [mho/m].
• Neutral gas velocity Vn in [m/s] with its three components:
  • Vn_Lat (meridional; CTIP name "V_x" also named U),
  • Vn_Lon (zonal, longitudinal; CTIP name "V_y" also named V) and
  • Vn_IP (vertical, radial; CTIP name "V_z", also named W).
• Plasma (ion) velocity Vi in [m/s] with its components:
  • Vi_Lat ("Vi_x"),
  • Vi_Lon ("Vi_y").
  • Vi_IP ("Vi_z") is missing in the model output and assumed to be zero for vector arrow plots.
• Heating rates per mass:
  • Psolar: solar heating in [J/(kg s)]
  • Pjoule: joule heating in [J/(kg s)]
  • Prad: radiation heating/cooling in [J/(kg s)]
• Electric field at two altitudes:
  • E140_theta: latitudinal component of electric field at 140 km [V/m]
  • E140_lambda: longitudinal component of electric field at 140 km [V/m]
  • E300_theta: latitudinal component of electric field at 300 km [V/m]
  • E300_lambda: longitudinal component of electric field at 300 km [V/m]

Height-integrated quantities in 3D data are available at each position in local time and latitude (obtained from 3D CTIP variables above)

• NmF2: maximum electron density N_e in [m^-3] in the vertical profile
• HmF2: height in [km] of the maximum of N_e (see NmF2)
• TEC, total electron content, integrated over altitudes between 80 and 2000 km [TECU=10¹⁶ electrons/m2]
• O/N2: ratio of N_O and N_N2 in the vertical column. The ratio is calculated from the pressure level where SH*N_N2=10²¹m^-2 with SH=k_B T_n/(g*m(N2)) being the scale height of the N2 gas species (m(N2)=28 amu). The O-column density is obtained by interpolation at this pressure level using model outputs at pressure levels 8 and 9.
• SigmaP, SigmaH: Pedersen and Hall conductance [S],
• Wjoule: Joule heating [mW / m2],

Changes in output parameters from geomagnetic quiet condition (Kp~3):

• rd(output parameter): run difference (e.g.: rd(T_n)=T_n (current condition) - T_n (geomagnetic quiet condition))
• Run ratio of NmF2 rr(NmF2)= NmF2(current condition)/NmF2(geomagnetic quiet condition)

Zonal averages are calculated from T (T_n), T_e, T_i, Vn_lat (U) and Vn_lon (V)

GITM

Physical Variables written by GITM simulations:

The coordinate system consists of

• Longitude lon with positive vector components meaning eastward,
• Latitude lat from -90 at the south pole to 90 at the north pole with positive being northward,
• height Z in km.

Vector (arrow) plots of the velocities only make sense as:

• vertical cuts (meridional or at constant-latitude) if UseHeight is selected,
• synoptic maps of velocity vectors (over local time and latitude) if plotted at constant height.

The basic plasma and electrodynamic field variables in 3D are:

• Particle number density N in [m-3] with species identifier (after the "_"):
  • e: electrons,
  • O(3P): oxygen atoms (3P ground state),
  • O(1D): oxygen atoms (1D excitation state),
  • N2: nitrogen molecules
  • O2: oxygen molecules
  • N(3P): atomic nitrogen with 3P excitation state
  • N(4S): atomic nitrogen with 4S excitation state
  • N(2D): atomic nitrogen with 2D excitation state
  • N(2P): atomic nitrogen with 2P excitation state
  • H: atomic Hydrogen
  • He: atomic Helium
  • Ar: atomic Argon
  • N2+: molecular nitrogen ions
  • NO: nitric oxide
  • O(4SP)+: atomic oxygen ions with 4SP excitation state
  • O(2D)+: atomic oxygen ions woth 2D excitation state
  • O(2P)+: atomic oxygen ions with 2P excitation state
  • NO+: nitric oxide ions
  • N2+: molecular nitrogen ions
  • O2+: molecular oxygen ions
• O(3P)/N2: ratio of ground state oxygen number density to molecular nitrogen
• Neutral gas temperature T_n in [K].
• Neutral gas velocity Vn in [m/s] with its three components
  Vn_lat (meridional; also referred to as "V_x"),
  Vn_lon (zonal, longitudinal; also referred to as "V_y") and
  Vn_z (vertical, radial; also referred to as "V_z").
• Vertical drift velocities of selected neutral species:Vn(O(3P))_z oxygen atoms, 3P excitation state
  Vn(N2)_z nitrogen molecules
  Vn(O2)_z oxygen molecules
  Vn(N(4S))_z nitrogen atoms, 4S excitation state
  Vn(NO)_z nitric oxide molecules
• Plasma (ion) velocity Vi in [m/s] with its components:
  Vi_lat (Vi_x): latitudinal (meridional) ion velocity.
  Vi_lon (Vi_y): longitudinal (zonal) ion velocity
  Vi_z: vertical ion velocity

Height-integrated quantities in 3D data
available at each position in local time and latitude (written by model or calculated from 3D GITM variables above)

• NmF2: maximum electron density N_e in [m-3] in the vertical profile,
• HmF2: height in [km] of the maximum of N_e (see NmF2),
• TEC, total electron content, integrated over altitudes between 80 and 2000 km [TECU=1016 electrons/m2],
• LT: Local Time [hour],
• SZA: Solar Zenith Angle [deg],
• Q: Heat flux [mW m-2],
• WJoule: Joule heating [mW m-2],
• WEUV: Solar Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) heating [mW m-2],
• WNO-Cool: Cooling rate due to Nitrous Oxide (NO) [mW m-2].

Changes in output parameters from geomagnetic quiet condition (Kp~3):

• rd(output parameter): run difference (e.g.: rd(T_n)=T_n (current condition) - T_n (geomagnetic quiet condition))
• Run ratio of NmF2 rr(NmF2)= NmF2(current condition)/NmF2(geomagnetic quiet condition)

HWM

• Neutral gas velocity V in [m/s] with two components:
  • V_lat (U , meridional or latitudinal wind),
  • V_lon (V, zonal or longitudinal wind)

IFM

Physical Variables written by IFM specifications:

The coordinate system consists of

• Longitude Lon with positive vector components meaning eastward,
• Latitude Lat from -90 at the south pole to 90 at the north pole with positive being northward,
• Altitude Alt in km.

The field variables in 3D are:

• Particle number density N in [m-3] with species identifier (after the "_"):
  • e: electrons,
  • H+: hydrogen ions,
  • O+: oxygen ions,
  • NO+: nitrogen oxide molecule ions,
  • N2+: nitrogen molecule ions,
  • O2+: oxygen molecule ions.
• Electron temperature T_e in [K].
• Ion temperature T_i in [K].

Height-integrated quantities in 3D data
available at each position in longitude and latitude

• TEC: Total Electron Content in [m-2]
• NmF2: Maximum electron density (Ne) in F-region in [m-3]
• HmF2: Altitude in [km] of the F-region maximum of N_e (see NmF2)
• NmE: Maximum electron density in E-region in [m-3]
• HmE: Altitude in [km] of the E-region maximum of N_e (see NmE)

Ionospheric Electrodynamics

Physical Variables written in Ionospheric Electrodynamics:

The plasma and electrodynamic field variables in the ionosphere model are:

• Electric potential PHI in kV,
• Hall Conductance SigmaH in 1/Ohm,
• Pedersen Conductance SigmaP in 1/Ohm,
• Radial current density JR in micro-A/m^2,
• Velocities V with its three components V_x in km/s, V_y and V_z, may be further identified by particle species, e.g. electrons (V_e,x),
• Electric surface current density J in micro-A/m with its three components J_x, J_y and J_z,
• Electric field E in milli-V/m with its three components E_x, E_y and E_z,
• Electric current parallel to the magnetic field, Jpar, computed from JR and the local dipole field orientation.
• Variables written by the SWMF model when IE tracing is enabled in the GM component (#IE: DoTraceIE=T):
  • flux volume 1/B_RT (RT 1/B) in [1/T] calculated along field lines,
  • mass density Rho_RT (RT Rho) in [amu/cm³],
  • Pressure P_RT (RT P) in [Pa],
  • latitude difference between conjugate points (on closed field line) dLat_conj (conjugate dLat) in [deg],
  • longitude difference between conjugate points (on closed field line) dLon_conj (conjugate dLon) in [deg],
  • the cosine of solar zenith angle cos(SZA) is dimensionless ([]).
• Variables written by the SWMF model when running a ring current model (RCM or CIMI) as the inner magnetosphere (IM) component:
  • Joule heating rate JouleHeat in [mW/m²],
  • Ion number flux IonNumFlux in [1/cm²/s] from the ring current (IM component),

Derived quantities (calculated by CCMC):

• New: Components of J in spherical coordinates: J_t and J_p (same for drift velocity V and electric field E, if available). Since the model outputs are derived on constant-radius shells, the "r" component of each of these vectors (e.g., J_r) is always zero and thus is not listed.
  Note: The theta component flips sign around the polar axis of the spherical coordinate system (at X=0 and Y=0).
• Joule dissipation rate Wdiss in W/m2 (computed as J2SigmaP/(SigmaP2+SigmaH2)).
• Solar Zenith Angle SZA in degrees
• Pedersen and Hall conductances due to solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) SigmaP,EUV and SigmaH,EUV.
  These are calculated from the solar F10.7 index and the SZA distribution and may include background values such as "starlight" conductances.
• Pedersen and Hall conductances in 1/Ohm due to precipitation SigmaP,prec and SigmaH,prec (may be calculated by MHD proxies such as field aligned currents).
  Data displayed are calculated from the total conductance minus the respective EUV conductance contribution (e.g., SigmaP, prec=sqrt[SigmaP2-SigmaP, EUV2]).

IRI

Physical Variables written by IRI request runs:

The coordinate system consists of

• Lon Longitude Lon, positive is eastward,
• Lat Latitude Lat from -90 at the south pole to 90 at the north pole,
• H Height between 100 and 1000 km

The basic thermosphere/ionosphere variables in 3D are:

• Particle number density N in [cm-3] with species identifier:
  • e: electron
  • H+: atomic hydrogen ion
  • O+<: atomic oxygen ion
  • N+: atomic nitrogen ion
  • O2+: molecular oxygen ion
  • NO+: nitric oxide ion
• Temperature in [K]:
  T_n: neutral gas
  T_i: ions
  T_e: electrons
• TEC -- Total Electron Content (in TECU).

JB

Physical Variables written by JB request runs:

The coordinate system consists of

• Lon Longitude Lon, positive is eastward,
• Lat Latitude Lat from -90 at the south pole to 90 at the north pole,
• H Height between 100 and 1000 km

The basic thermosphere/ionosphere variables in 3D are:

• T_exo: exospheric temperature in K (provided on 2D longitude-latitude grid)
• T: temperature in K
• Rho: mass density in kg/m3

Magnetometer

Physical Variables written at magnetometer sites from coupled magnetosphere-ionosphere Simulations:

The magnetic perturbations written by the SWMF model (in geomagnetic coordinates) are:

• sumBn, SumBe, sumBd total magnetic perturbation in the North (n), East (e) and Down (d) direction.
• dBn, dBe, dBd magnetic perturbations from the magnetosphere (MHD solution in the magnetosphere, typically outside of 3 to 4 RE from the Earth's center,
• facdBn, facdBe, facdBd magnetic perturbation from field-aligned currents, mapped along dipole field lines between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere (at 110 km altitude),
• JhdBn, JhdBe, JhdBd magnetic perturbation from the ionosphere (at 110 km altitude), resulting from Hall currents
• JpdBn, JpdBe, JpdBd magnetic perturbation from the ionosphere, resulting from Pedersen currents

The <Magnetic perturbations written by CalcDeltaB (postprocessing from LFM, OpenGGCM or GUMICS model outputs):

• B_NorthGeomag, B_EastGeomag, B_DownGeomag total magnetic perturbation in the North (n), East (e) and Down (d) direction, respectively.
• Constant values of geomagnetic longitude GeomagLon and latitude GeomagLat may be listed in these files for information.

MAS

Variables of MAS diagnostic output files:

All variables are spatially integrated to form a single number for each time step. Most are in dimensionless units and are used to determine whether a stationary state is reached,

Variables used in .hccmc files

• measures of magnetic energy:
  • Br**2: Br2 integrated over the simulation volume
  • Bt**2: Bt2 or Blat2 integrated over the simulation volume
  • Bp**2: Bp2 or Blon2 integrated over the simulation volume
  • W: total magnetic energy
• measures of kinetic energy:
  • rho*Vr**2: ρ Vr2 integrated over the simulation volume
  • rho*Vt**2: ρ Vt2 or ρ Vlat2 integrated over the simulation volume
  • rho*Vp**2: ρ Vp2 or ρ Vlon2 integrated over the simulation volume
  • K: total kinetic energy
  • vmag0: unused, set to zero
• E: total energy (not conserved due to magnetofriction method to attain steady state / equilibrium
• measures of magnetic forces:
  • |JxB|: magnitude of Lorentz force integrated over the simulation volume
  • |J.B|: magnitude of parallel currents integrated over the simulation volume

Variables used in .qccmc files:

• cell_visc_max: maximum numerical viscosity in cell
• cell_eta_ma*: maximum numerical resistivity in cell

Variables used in .vccmc files:

• rho_vpar_r**2: ρ_v||,r2: density times square of r-component of b-parallel velocity
• rho_vpar_r**2: ρ_v||,t2: density times square of t(theta)-component of b-parallel velocity
• rho_vpar_r**2: ρ_v||,p2: density times square of p(hi)-component of b-parallel velocity
• rho_vperp_t**2: ρ_v⊥,t2 density times radial component of b-perpendicular velocity
• rho_vperp_t**2: ρ_v⊥,t2 density times radial component of b-perpendicular velocity
• ρ_vperp_t**2: ρ_v⊥,t2 density times radial component of b-perpendicular velocity
• vr(diag)Vt: averaged in the simulation volume.
• vt(diag)Vt: averaged in the simulation volume.
• vp(diag)Vt: averaged in the simulation volume.
• dt: time step used.
• CFL: "Courant Friedrich Levy" number, ratio of maximum allowable explicit time step and time step dt used
• vmax: maximum plasma velocity found in the simulation volume.

The basic plasma and electrodynamic field variables are:

• Mass density Rho or particle number density N.
• Plasma pressure P.
• Internal Energy En. (P/(γ-1) with γ="ratio of specific heats", usually 5/3).
• Resistivity Eta (some runs).
• Plasma velocity V with its three components V_x, V_y and V_z.
• Magnetic field B with its three components B_x, B_y and B_z.
• B1 is the difference between B and the Earth's dipole field (components B1_x, B1_y, B1_z).
  B1 is used to see small variations of B near the Earth.
• Electric current density J with its three components J_x, J_y and J_z.
• B-parallel electric current density J_par with its three components J_par_x, J_par_y and J_par_z.
  Note: flow line tracings do not make much sense with this vector!
• Electric field E with its three components E_x, E_y and E_z.
• Plasma-β: "beta"=P/(B2/2μ0).

The underscore ("_") indicates subscript level in variable name used in plots.

Gradients and divergences (magnetosphere models only at this time):

• Gradients of selected scalar variables (e.g., gradN, gradT, gradP) and divergences of selected vectors (e.g., div.V, div.ExB) can be requested for visualization and ASCII data output.
• A certain discrepancy from expected values can be expected since divergences and gradients are computed based on a finite differencing of data that may have been interpolated before computing the gradient or divergence.
• Vector values in some models may be defined on staggered meshes. For visualization and the computation of derived quantities (such as ExB) all vector variables are interpolated to cell center positions (where plasma parameters such as N, P, T already reside).

Quantities scaled with radial distance in solar coronal and heliospheric models:

Coordinates: r,lon,lat for MAS, ENLIL and x,y,z for SWMF

• Scaled with r2:
  • N, P, B_r, JxB, E.J (if currents J are available)
• Scaled with r1:
  • B (B_lon,B_lat or B_x,B_y,B_z),
    E (E_r,E_lon,E_lat or E_x,E_y,E_z),
    J (J_r,J_lon,J_lat or J_x,J_y,J_z),
    J_par(J_par_r,J_par_lon,J_par_lat or J_par_x,J_par_y,J_par_z)
• Not scaled:
  • T, beta, S (entropy), V (V_r,V_lon,V_lat or V_x,V_y,V_z)

MHD Simulations

The basic plasma and electrodynamic field variables (written by each MHD model) are:

• Mass density Rho or particle number density N.
• Plasma pressure P.
• Plasma velocity V with its three components V_x, V_y and V_z.
• Magnetic field B with its three components B_x, B_y and B_z.
• B1
  • SWMF/BATSRUS model: this is the difference between B and the Earth's dipole field (components B1_x, B1_y, B1_z).
    B1 is used to see small variations of B near the Earth.
  • UCLA-GGCM/OpenGGCM: B1 is the magnetic field as stored on the original model grid on grid cell faces.
    Each B1 component exists on a grid that is offset from the "plasma" grid (where N, T, V are defined) by half a grid position in the direction of the respective field component (i.e., the grid for B1x is offset in X, the grid for By is offset in Y, and the grid for B1z is offset in Z).
    When using components of B1 for field line tracing, the original grid positions are used for improved accuracy instead of using B field values interpolated onto the plasma grid before performing interpolations during field line tracing (when using components of B).
• BA is the "B-field anomaly", the difference between the total field strength B and the strength of the Earth's dipole field B-dipole.
• Electric current density J with its three components J_x, J_y and J_z.

Primary variables written occasionally or by some models only:

• Internal Energy En. (P/(γ-1) with γ="ratio of specific heats", usually 5/3).
• Resistivity Eta (some runs).

Derived quantities
Note: everything listed here and below is calculated by CCMC.
Please report errors to us.

• New: Vector components in spherical coordinates for models with cartesian grids.
  For example V_r, V_t, V_p: plasma velocity in the radial, theta and phi direction, respectively.
  Note: The theta component flips sign around the polar axis of the spherical coordinate system (at X=0 and Y=0).
  Spherical components are available for vectors (B, B1, V, J, and E) that exist in primary model outputs.
• B-parallel electric current density J_par with its three components J_par_x, J_par_y and J_par_z.
  Note: flow line tracings do not make much sense with this vector!
• Electric field E with its three components E_x, E_y and E_z.
• Plasma-β: "beta"=P/(B2/2μ0).
• **Plasma Frequency:**We assume N=Ne=Ni (electron-proton plasma).
  • ωpi = 1.32_103_(N [cm-3])1/2 - ion plasma frequency
  • ωpe = 5.64_104_(N [cm-3])1/2 - electron plasma frequency

The underscore ("_") indicates subscript level in variable name used in plots.

Gradients and divergences (magnetosphere models SWMF/BATSRUS and OpenGGCM only at this time):

• Vorticity "omega" (curl of V) with components "omega"x, "omega"y, "omega"z,
• Gradients of selected scalar variables (e.g., gradN, gradT, gradP) and divergences of selected vectors (e.g., div.V, div.ExB) and curls of vectors can be requested for visualization and ASCII data output.
  A certain discrepancy from expected values can be expected since divergences and gradients are computed based on a finite differencing of data that may have been interpolated before computing the gradient or divergence.
  Vector values in some models may be defined on staggered meshes. For visualization and the computation of derived quantities (such as ExB) all vector variables are interpolated to cell center positions (where plasma parameters such as N, P, T already reside).

Quantities scaled with radial distance in solar coronal and heliospheric models:

Coordinates: r,lon,lat for MAS, ENLIL and x,y,z for SWMF

• Scaled with r2:
  • N, P, B_r, JxB, E.J (if currents J are available)
• Scaled with r1:
  • B (B_lon,B_lat or B_x,B_y,B_z),
    E (E_r,E_lon,E_lat or E_x,E_y,E_z),
    J (J_r,J_lon,J_lat or J_x,J_y,J_z),
    J_par(J_par_r,J_par_lon,J_par_lat or J_par_x,J_par_y,J_par_z)
• Not scaled:
  • T, beta, S (entropy), V (V_r,V_lon,V_lat or V_x,V_y,V_z)

MSIS

Physical Variables written by MSIS request runs:

The coordinate system consists of

• Lon Longitude Lon, positive is eastward,
• Lat Latitude Lat from -90 at the south pole to 90 at the north pole,
• H Height between 0 and 500 km

The variables in 3D are:

• rho: mass density in [kg/m³]
• Particle number density N in [cm^-3] with species identifier:
  • N: atomic nitrogen
  • O2: molecular oxygen
  • N2: molecular nitrogen
  • H: atomic hydrogen
  • O: atomic oxygen
  • AO: anomalous oxygen
  • H: atomic hydrogen
  • Ar: atomic argon
  • N: atomic nitrogen
  • T: neutral gas temperature
  • T_exo: exospheric temperature

NAIRAS

The output variables are:

• Deff: Effective Dose Rate of galactic radiation [μSv/h]

Ovation-Prime

Physical Variables written:

The output variables are:

• Eflux: Energy flux [W/m2] (displayed online as 'W')
• Eave: Average Energy [eV]
• Nflux: Number flux [1/m2] (not currently offered)

Each of these are available for

• electrons ('e'),
• ions ('i'),
• electons and ions combined ('e+i').

The 2D patterns are returned for different types of precipitation:

• All types of precipitation ('all'),
• monoenergetic aurora ('mono') or
• diffuse aurora ('diff').

Variable names are formed by combining the variable type, species and precipitation type, e.g., 'Eflux_e,mono' or 'Eave_e+i,all'.
Variable names without variable type identifier ('e+i,all', 'e,all', 'i,all') are energy flux ('Eflux(') values (these were the only outputs provided before Nov. 19, 2021 for request runs).

PANDOCA

Physical Variables written:

The output variables are:

• doserate: Effective Dose Rate of galactic radiation [μSv/h]

The model covers three typical aviation altitude levels:

• 30000 ft or 9.144 km,
• 35000 ft or 10.668 km, and
• 40000 ft or 12.192 km.

PBMOD

Physical Variables written by PBMOD:

The coordinate system consists of

• Longitude Lon (geomagnetic or geographic) with positive meaning eastward,
• Latitude Lat in [deg] from -40 in the south pole to 40 in the north hemisphere with positive being northward,
• Altitude Alt in [km].
• Gamma (dimensionless) = 0 (indicating position on fieldlines at magnetic equator)

Scintillation bubble outputs in (geomagnetic) longitude and apex altitude:

• N_e (rho) electron density in [cm-3]
• PHI (pot) electric potential in[V]
• Vx meridional (latitudinal) velocity in [m/s]
• Vy zonal (longitudinal) velocity in [m/s]

Scintillation maps in 2D:

geographic longitude, latitude grid

• S4 Scintillation index (dimensionless) for amplitude
• S4phscn S4 Scintillation index (dimensionless) for phase
• dS4 – scintillation error measure (dimensionless)

Scintillation maps are for UHF (250 Mhz, scintmap) and L-band (1500 MHz, scintmapL).

'Peak' map in 2D:

geographic longitude, latitude grid (slightly different than scintillation maps)

• TEC total electron content in [TECU] or [10¹⁶m^-2]
• NmF2 electron density peak in F2 layer in [cm^-3]
• HmF2 height of electron density peak in F2 layer in [km]

RAM

Physical Variables Written by RAM (RAM-SCB) Ring Current model:

Fluxes F for electrons (e-), hydrogen ions (H+), Oxygen ions (O+) ,and Helium ions (He+):

• identified by the (sine of the) pitch angle (_PA=?.????, between 0 and 1),
• Pitch-angle-integrated fluxes identified by:Energy-independent parameters:
  • _tot: Total flux for species (all pitch angles),
  • _par: Fluxes along magnetic field B (Pitch angle <60 deg, "PA" <0.866),
  • _perp: Fluxes perpendicular to B (Pitch angle >60 deg, "PA" >0.866),
  • _anis: Pitch-angle anisotropy (F_perp-F_par)/F_tot.
  • P - pressure resulting from integration over all fluxes in energy and pitch angle space. The pressure is the contribution from the particle species currently visualized (either electrons, protons, Helium or Oxygen ions).

All fluxes are defined in spatial coordinates X and Y (R_E, in SM, after resampling) or polar coordinates (R between 1.75 and 6.5 R_E and MLT between 0 and 24 hours). There are 35 energy levels between 0.12 and 426.35 keV. The pitch angle grid has 72 levels.

Rice Convection Model (RCM)

Physical Variables Written by Rice Convection Model:

• 3D data in equatorial plane - species and energy grid (for model developers only)
  • Z coordinate - species and energy channel index K, energy channels for electrons, H+ and O+ ions cover separate ranges in K space.
  • ALAM - invariant energy level channel - negative values are for electrons
  • E_east, E_south electic field in eastern and southern direction [mV/m]
  • EETA - number of particles at each grid point (i,j,k) [particles/Weber]
  • VEFF - effective potential [V]
  • W - kinetic energy at each grid point (i,j,k) [eV]
• 2D data mapped into ionosphere (for all users):
  • BIRK(NH) - birkeland currents in the northern hemisphere; positive is downward [10^-6 A/m^2]
  • eavg - average energy of precipitating electrons [eV]
    • EAVG(e-), EAVG(H+), EAVG(O+) - average energy foir electrons, protons, Oxygen ions
  • eflux - total energy flux of electrons that precipitate at the altitude of 100 km [erg/cm^2/s/sr]
    • EFLUX(e-), EFLUX(H+), EFLUX()+) - average energy flux for electrons, protons, Oxygen ions
  • N(RCM) - total RCM ion number density [cm^-3] - to be written out into
    • N_e or N(e-) - electron number density [cm^-3]
    • N_h+ or N(H+) - H+ (proton) number density [cm^-3]
    • N_O+ or N(O+) - O+ number density [cm^-3]
  • P(RCM) or P_total(RCM) - total RCM ion pressure [nPa]
    • P(e-), P(H+),P(He+) pressure from individual particle species
  • PVG (or PV_gamma) - P*V^gamma (gamma=5/3, ratio of specific heats for atoms) [customized units]
  • Sigma_P - field-line integrated Pedersen conductance
    • pedpsi - tensor element PSI (Sigma_p*sin(I), I = magnetic field inclination angle)
    • pedlam - tensor element LAMBDA (Sigma_p*sin(I))
  • Sigma_H, Hall - field-line integrated Hall conductance
  • T(RCM) - total RCM average ion temperature [eV] - to be divided into
    • T_e(RCM) or T(e-) - total RCM electron temperature [eV]
    • T_h+(RCM) or T(H+) - total RCM H+ ion temperature [eV]
    • T_O+(RCM) or T(O+) - total RCM O+ ion temperature [eV]
  • V, PHI, Pot_iono - ionospheric electric potential in rotating frame [V]
    • Pot_parallel - magnetic-field-parallel electric potential [V],
  • Vdrift_west - Drift velocity in westerly direction, [m/s],
  • VM - (flux tube volume)^(-2/3) in [(RE/nT)^(-2/3)] (negative for open field lines)

Fok Ring Current and Radiation Belt Model

Physical Variables Written by Fok Ring Current and Radiation Belt Simulations (Fok RC, RBE, CRCM, CIMI):

Fluxes F for electrons (e-) and hydrogen ions (H+) in ring current models and Oxygen ions (O+) and Helium ions (He+) in CRCM and CIMI ring current and radiation belt models:

• identified by the (sine of the) pitch angle (_PA=?.???, between 0 and 1),
• Pitch-angle-integrated fluxes identified by:Energy-independent parameters:
  • _tot: Total flux for species (all pitch angles),
  • _par: Fluxes along magnetic field B (Pitch angle <60 deg, "PA" <0.866),
  • _perp: Fluxes perpendicular to B (Pitch angle >60 deg, "PA" >0.866),
  • _anis: Pitch-angle anisotropy (F_perp-F_par)/F_tot.
  • P - pressure resulting from integration over all fluxes in energy and pitch angle space.
    The pressure is the contribution from the particle species currently visualized (either electrons, protons, Helium or Oxygen ions).
  • N_ps Plasmasphere density (from stand-alone CIMI model).
    This field may be zero if a plasmasphere model was not included in the CIMI model simulation.

All fluxes are defined in spatial coordinates X and Y (R_E, in SM) or polar coordinates (R between 2 and 10 R_E and MLT between 0 and 24 hours). There are 12 energy levels in the ring current (Fok-RC) and radiation belt electron (RBE) models and up to 16 levels in versions of CRCM and CIMI. Energies are between 1 keV and 300 keV for electrons in versions of the Fok ring current model, between 0.1 keV and ~300 keV for CRCM and CIMI electrons and between 1 keV< and ~3000 keV for CRCM and CIMI ion species. The pitch angle grid has 12 levels for the ring current and radiation belt electron models and 18 levels for CRCM and CIMI ring current and radiation belt models.

SAMI2 and SAMI3

Physical Variables Written by SAMI2 and SAMI3 Simulations:

All variables denoted by "N_" are densities measured in particles per cm3.

• N_e: electrons
• densities of singly positive-charged ions:
  • N_H+: Hydrogen ions or protons (H+)
  • N_O+: Oxygen ions (O+)
  • N_NO+: Nitrogen-Oxide ions (NO+)
  • N_O2+: Oxygen molecule ions (O2+)
  • N_He+: Helium ions (He+)
  • N_N2+: Nitrogen molecule ions (N2+)
  • N_N+: Nitrogen ions (N+)
• densities of neutral species:
  • N_H: Hydrogen atoms (H)
  • N_O: Oxygen atoms(O)
  • N_NO: Nitrogen-Oxide molecules(NO)
  • N_O2: Oxygen molecule molecules (O2)
  • N_He: Helium atoms (He+)
  • N_N2: Nitrogen molecules (N2+)
  • N_N: Nitrogen atoms (N+)
• Ion temperatures:
  • T_H+: Hydrogen ions or protons (H+)
  • T_O+: Oxygen ions (O+)
  • T_NO+: Nitrogen-Oxide ions (NO+)
  • T_O2+: Oxygen molecule ions (O2+)
  • T_He+: Helium ions (He+)
  • T_N2+: Nitrogen molecule ions (N2+)
  • T_N+: Nitrogen ions (N+)
• Ion drift speeds along magnetic field lines:
  • VS_H+: Hydrogen ions or protons (H+)
  • VS_O+: Oxygen ions (O+)
  • VS_NO+: Nitrogen-Oxide ions (NO+)
  • VS_O2+: Oxygen molecule ions (O2+)
  • VS_He+: Helium ions (He+)
  • VS_N2+: Nitrogen molecule ions (N2+)
  • VS_N+: Nitrogen ions (N+)

Variables below only applies to SAMI3:

• NmF2: maximum electron density in F-region
• hmF2: altitude in [km] of the F-region maximum of N_e
• TEC: Total Electron Content

SWMF

Physical Variables written:

The magnetic field perturbations written by the SWMF model (Bn, Be, Bd) (in geographic or geomagnetic (dipole) coordinates) is the sum of the field contributions in the magnetosphere (with suffix Mhd), field-aligned currents (Fac), and Hall (Hal) and Pedersen (Ped) currents in the ionosphere.

The output variables are:

• dBn (sumBn in model versions from 2011 through 2014**)**: north component of the magnetic field perturbation (sum of all contributions),
• dBe (sumBe): east component of the magnetic field perturbation (sum of all contributions),
• dBd (sumBd): down component of the magnetic field perturbation (sum of all contributions),
• dBnMhd (dBn): north component of the magnetic field perturbation (magnetosphere MHD only),
• dBeMhd (dBe): east component of the magnetic field perturbation (magnetosphere MHD only),
• dBdMhd (dBd): down component of the magnetic field perturbation (magnetosphere MHD only),
• dBnFac (facdBn): north component of the magnetic field perturbation (field-aligned currents only),
• **dBeFac (facdBe): **The output variables are:: east component of the magnetic field perturbation (field-aligned currents only),
• dBdFac (facdBd): down component of the magnetic field perturbation (field-aligned currents only),
• dBnHal (JhdBn): north component of the magnetic field perturbation (Hall currents in ionosphere only),
• dBeHal (JhdBe):: east component of the magnetic field perturbation (Hall currents in ionosphere only),
• dBdHal (JhdBd):: down component of the magnetic field perturbation (Hall currents in ionosphere only),
• dBnPed (JpBn): north component of the magnetic field perturbation (Pedersen currents in ionosphere only),
• dBePed (JpBe): east component of the magnetic field perturbation (Pedersen currents in ionosphere only),
• dBdPed (JpBd): down component of the magnetic field perturbation (Pedersen currents in ionosphere only),

TIEGCM

Physical Variables written by TIEGCM simulations:

The coordinate system consists of

• Longitude Lon with positive vector component meaning eastward,
• Latitude Lat from -90 at the south pole to 90 at the north pole with positive being northward,
• Pressure levels IP (0 to 28), corresponding to log pressure ln(p0/p) -7 to +7, or height H in km
  (* ln(p0/p) is the native vertical coordinate denoted as "lev" on the output data files)

The basic plasma and electrodynamic field variables in 3D are:

• Height (Geopotential Height Z) in [km] corresponding to pressure level number IP.
  The height of a pressure level varies spatially and with time. Heights covered start at about 97 km (IP=0) and reach a few hundred km above ground (the maximum found for IP=28, the top layer, is typically between 450 km and 1000 km).
  The height can be used as an alternative 3rd coordinate for plotting.
  (* Z is used by post-processors to interpolate fields to constant height surfaces).
• Geopotential Height calculated with varying gravity ZG in [km]
• Particle number density N in [cm-3] with species identifier:
  • e: electron
  • O+: atomic oxygen ion
  • O2+: molecular oxygen ion
  • N2+: molecular nitrogen ion
  • NO+: nitric oxide ion
  • N+: atomic nitrogen ion
• Particle mass mixing ratio rho (0<ρ<1) with species identifier:
  • O: atomic oxygen
  • O2: oxygen molecule
  • N4S: ground state atomic nitrogen
  • N2D: excited state atomic nitrogen
  • NO: nitric oxide
• Temperature in [K]:
  T_n: neutral gas
  T_i: ions
  T_e: electrons
• Electric potential PHI in [Volts]
• Omega (vertical motion of neutral gas) in [10-6/s]
• Neutral gas velocity Vn in [m/s] with its three components
  • Vn_Lat (meridional, positive northward)
  • Vn_Lon (zonal, positive eastward)
  • Vn_IP (vertical, radial, calculated from Omega)
• Plasma (ion) velocity Vi in [m/s] with three components
  • Vi_Lat (meridional, positive northward)
  • Vi_Lon (zonal, positive eastward)
  • Vi_IP (vertical) (* The components of Vn and Vi are in [cm/s] on the output data files)
• TEC (Total Electron Content) integrated over altitudes between lower boundary (IP=0) and upper boundary (IP=28) in [TECU=1016 electrons/m2]

Zonal averages are calculated from T (T_n), T_e, T_i, Vn_lat (U) and Vn_lon (V)

Timeline Plots

Physical Variables used in Timeline Plots:

The basic plasma and electrodynamic field variables are:

Cross Polar Cap Potential and DST Index Timeline

• Cross polar cap potential in Northern hemisphere CPCP_N in kV
• Cross polar cap potential in Southern hemisphere CPCP_S in kV
• DST index DST in nT

Polar Cap Area

• Polar cap area PC_area in m2
• Polar cap flux PC_flux in 109Wb

Magnetopause Standoff Distance

• Magnetopause standoff distance at noon local time mpnose in Re
• Minimum distance of magnetopause from Earth within 30 degrees from the Sun-Earth line (10 AM to 2 PM local time sector) rmin in Re
• Local time at closest distance of magnetopause from Earth (rmin)lt_at_rmin in hr

Ionosphere Joule heating:

Variable names below have a "_N" or "_S" attached:
_N: computed for northern hemisphere
_S: computed for southern hemisphere

• JrPHI in GW - Hemispherically integrated Joule heating computed using radial current density Jr and electric potential PHI, see https://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/publicData/VIS-DOCS/JrPHI_hemispherically_integrated_JouleHeat.pdf
• I in MA - Radial current flowing into one hemisphere (all Jr > 0 integrated over hemisphere)
• Dphi in kV - maximum (PHI) - minimum (PHI) in hemisphere

Variable below applies to both hemispheres:

• Theta in degrees - dipole tilt angle from Z-axis in GSM coordinates

Extent of Northern Polar Cap Area

• Extent of Northern Polar Cap Area at 24 magnetic local times colat_?? in deg, with ?? from 0 to 23

TING

Physical Variables written by TING simulations:

The coordinate system consists of

• Longitude Lon with positive vector components meaning eastward,
• Latitude Lat from -90 at the south pole to 90 at the north pole with positive being northward,
• pressure level IP or height H in km.

Vector (arrow) plots of the velocities only make sense as:

• vertical cuts (meridional or at constant-latitude) if UseHeight is selected,
• synoptic maps of velocity vectors (over local time and latitude) if plotted at constant height (not constant pressure level IP).

The basic plasma and electrodynamic field variables in 3D are:

• Height in [km] corresponding to pressure level number IP
  The height of a pressure level varies spatially and with time. Heights covered start at about 80 km (IP=0) and reach a few hundred km above ground (the maximum found for IP=14, the top layer, is typically between 450 km and 1000 km).
  The height can be used as an alternative 3rd coordinate for plotting.
• Particle number density N in [m-3] with species identifier (after the "_"):
  • e: electrons,
  • O: oxygen ions,
  • N2: nitrogen molecules,
  • O2: oxygen molecules.
• Neutral gas temperature T_n in [K].
• Mean molecular mass Rmt in [amu].
• Hall and Pedersen conductivities sigma_H, sigma_P in [mho/m].
• Neutral gas velocity Vn in [m/s] with its three components
  Vn_Lat (meridional; CTIP name "V_x"),
  Vn_Lon (zonal, longitudinal; CTIP name "V_y") and
  Vn_IP (vertical, radial; CTIP name "V_z").
• Plasma (ion) velocity Vi in [m/s] with its components
  Vi_Lat ("Vi_x"),
  Vi_Lon ("Vi_y").
  Vi_IP ("Vi_z") is missing in the model output and assumed to be zero for vector arrow plots.

Height-integrated quantities in 3D data
available at each position in local time and latitude (obtained from 3D CTIP variables above)

• NmF2: maximum electron density N_e in [m-3] in the vertical profile
• HmF2: height in [km] of the maximum of N_e (see NmF2)
• O/N2: ratio of N_O and N_N2 in the vertical column. The ratio is calculated from the pressure level where SH*N_N2=1021m-2 with SH=k_B T_n/(g*m(N2)) being the scale height of the N2 gas species (m=28 amu). The O-column density is obtained by interpolation at this pressure level using model outputs at pressure levels 8 and 9.

Height-integrated quantities (2D CTIP data)

• SigmaP, SigmaH: Pedersen and Hall conductance [S],
• En._flux: Energy flux [mW m-2],
• En._mean: Mean particle energy [keV],
• Q: Heat flux [W m-2].

Tsyganenko

Physical Variables used in Tsyganenko model runs:

All quantities are positions and magnetic field strength values along a magnetic field line traced from predefined positions or positions along a satellite trajectory.

• X_GSM: GSM X field line start position [RE]
• Y_GSM: GSM Y field line start position [RE]
• Z_GSM: GSM Z field line start position [RE]
• Bstart_X X-component of magnetic field at start position [nT]
• Bstart_Y Y-component of magnetic field at start position [nT]
• Bstart_Z Z-component of magnetic field at start position [nT]
• X_Bmin: GSM X component of minimum-B position [RE]
• Y_Bmin: GSM Y component of minimum-B position [RE]
• Z_Bmin: GSM Z component of minimum-B position [RE]
• Bmin_X X-component of magnetic field at minimum-B position [nT]
• Bmin_Y Y-component of magnetic field at minimum-B position [nT]
• Bmin_Z Z-component of magnetic field at minimum-B position [nT]
• X_Bapex: GSM X component of apex position [RE]
• Y_Bapex: GSM Y component of apex position [RE]
• Z_Bapex: GSM Z component of apex position [RE]
• Bapex_X X-component of magnetic field at apex position [nT]
• Bapex_Y Y-component of magnetic field at apex position [nT]
• Bapex_Z Z-component of magnetic field at apex position [nT]
• X_ZSM=0: SM X component of position where ZSM=0 [RE]
• Y_ZSM=0: SM Y component of position where ZSM=0 [RE]
• X_ZGSM=0: GSM X component of position where ZGSM=0 [RE]
• Y_ZGSM=0: GSM Y component of position where ZGSM=0 [RE]
• X_N=0 SM X position of northern hemisphere footpoint
• Y_N=0 SM Y position of northern hemisphere footpoint
• Z_N=0 SM Z position of northern hemisphere footpoint
• Lon_N=0 geogr. Longitude position of northern hemisphere footpoint
• Lat_N=0 geogr, Latitude position of northern hemisphere footpoint
• Alt_N=0 altitude position of northern hemisphere footpoint
• X_S=0 SM X position of southern hemisphere footpoint
• Y_S=0 SM Y position of southern hemisphere footpoint
• Z_S=0 SM Z position of southern hemisphere footpoint
• Lon_S=0 geogr. Longitude position of southern hemisphere footpoint
• Lat_S=0 geogr, Latitude position of southern hemisphere footpoint
• Alt_S=0 altitude position of southern hemisphere footpoint

USU-GAIM

Physical Variables written by USU-GAIM specification:

The coordinate system consists of

• Longitude Lon with positive vector components meaning eastward,
• Latitude Lat from -90 at the south pole to 90 at the north pole with positive being northward,
• Altitude Alt in km.

The basic field variables in 3D are:

• N_e in [m-3]: Electron density (3D distribution).

Height-integrated quantities in 3D data
available at each position in local time and latitude

• TEC in [m-2]: Total Electron Content (height-integrated electron density, 2D distribution).
• NmF2 in [m-3]: Electron density maximum in F-region (2D).
• HmF2 in [km]: Height of Electron density maximum in F-region (2D).

Vertical Equivalent TEC (shown on separate plots)

• Vertical Equivalent Total Electron Content (TEC) data are plotted at the 300km pierce points of the various slant satellite-ground station links. Vertical Equivalent TEC is obtained from the leveled, bias corrected, slant TEC values assimilated by the model.

VERB3D

Outputs of the VERB3D model in CCMC visualization:

Coordinates:

• L [RE]
• Energy [MeV]
• Pitch Angle (PA) [degrees]

Physical Variables Written:

• PSD the phase space density of radiation belt electrons.

VERB

Outputs of the VERB model (version 2.x) in CCMC visualization:

Coordinates:

• L [RE]
• Energy [MeV]
• Pitch Angle (PA) [degrees]

Physical Variables Written:

• flux the radiation belt electron flux in units of
• PSD the phase space density of radiation belt electrons in units of [(c/cm MeV)-3].
• pc the radiation belt electron momentum multiplied by the speed of light in units of [MeV].

WAM

Physical Variables written by The Whole Atmosphere Model request runs:

The coordinate system consists of

• Lon Longitude Lon, positive is eastward,
• Lat Latitude Lat from -90 at the south pole to 90 at the north pole,
• H Height between 100 and 500 km

The variables in 3D are:

• Particle number density N in [cm^-3] with species identifier:
  • O: atomic oxygen
  • O2: molecular oxygen
  • N2: molecular nitrogen
  • Vn_Lon eastward neutral wind (commonly referred to as U)
• T_n neutral temperature
• Vn_lat northward neutral wind (V)
• Vn_z vertical neutral wind (W)
• rho_400km: density at 400 km altitude
• O/N2: column density ratio of O over N2

WACCMX

Coordinates:

• lon - geographic east longitude [deg]
• lat - latitude [deg]
• IP - pressure level [unitless]
• Z3GM - geometric height [km]

*Note: Z3GM can be used instead of IP as the vertical coordinate in visualizations.

3D variables:

• Z3 - geopotential height in [km]
• Z3GM - geometric altitude in [km]
• N_e - electrion density in [cm-3]
• N_o+ - oxygen ion density in [cm-3]
• Mass Mixing Ratios (mmr) [unitless]:
  • mmr_O - oxygen atoms
  • mmr_O2 - oxygen molecules
  • mmr_H - hydrogen atoms
• Temperatures [K]:
  • T - neutral atmosphere
  • T_e - electrons
  • T_i - ions
• Velocities in [m/s]:
  • Vn_lon - zonal neutral velocity
  • Vn_lat - meridional neutral velocity
  • Vn_Z - vertical neutral velocity
  • Vi_lon - zonal ion velocity
  • Vi_lat - meridional ion velocity
  • Vi_Z - vertical ion velocity
• omega - vertical motion in [Pa/s]
• TEC – total electron content in [TECU} or [10^16 cm-2]
• NmF2 - electron density maximum in F2 layer in [cm-3]
• HmF2 - height of maximum electron density in F2 layer in [km]

Zonal averages are calculated from T (T_n), T_e, T_i, Vn_lat (U) and Vn_lon (V)

Zonal Averages

Zonal (longitudinal) averages of T (T_n), T_e, T_i, Vn_lat (U) and Vn_lon (V) to the variables available for WACCMX, TIE-GCM, CTIPe and GITM models.

Example: The zonal average of T (neutral temperature) is listed as avg(T)_Lon in the web interface and appears in visualizations as <T>_Lon.