Last Updated: 10/16/2024

HeliosphericTomographyIPS

Version: 24

The 3-D reconstruction technique incorporates a kinematic solar wind model that conserves mass and mass flux and tomographically fits this to ground-based interplanetary scintillation (IPS) data provided by the Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research (ISEE), Japan (formerly the Solar Terrestrial Environment Laboratory). The IPS time-dependent 3-D reconstruction analysis has been available at the CCMC since 2001, but has been updated recently to provide time-dependent volumes of density and velocity at slightly higher resolution than before. The IPS analysis allows the 3-D reconstruction of CMEs and other heliospheric structures such as corotating interaction regions (CIRs).

Caveats:

Velocity observations from ISEE are not available during the winter months (generally December to March) because of snow in the mountains of Japan.

In 2010 a more modern radio array was commissioned (SWIFT) that allowed year-round observations of scintillation level (used by the tomography as a density proxy) from an order of magnitude more radio sources than available prior. Previous to this no IPS data were available in the winter months in Japan.

From 2006 onward magnetic fields from GONG data are extrapolated outward from the IPS inner boundary at 15 Rs using the CSSS model and the velocity analysis from the UCSD tomography.

The tomography currently operates from 15 Rs to 3.0 AU

Inputs

Remote sensing data of the solar wind (currently IPS observations from the ISEE in Nagoya, Japan). In-situ measurements from any of 4 near-Earth plasma monitors, ACE, Wind, CELIAS, DSCOVR

Outputs

Solar wind density and velocity throughout the inner heliosphere.

Model is time-dependent.

Change Log

The pgf77 version of the program is now in a format that can be compiled with recently-available free software. Many new changes are made to the program so that it can use single-site and multi-site observations from up to 9 IPS radio observatories.

Version 24 was deployed on August 21, 2024 at the CCMC for ROR service.

Domains

  • Solar
  • Heliosphere / Inner Heliosphere

Space Weather Impacts

  • Geomagnetically induced currents - GICs (electric power systems)
  • Ionosphere variability (navigation, communications)
  • Atmosphere variability (satellite/debris drag)

Phenomena

  • Coronal Mass Ejections
  • Ambient Solar Wind
  • Magnetic Connectivity
  • High Speed Stream
  • Interplanetary Shocks
  • Coronal Mass Ejections Propagation
  • Coronal Mass Ejection Arrival

Publications

Code

Code Languages: Fortran, IDL

Contacts

Publication Policy

In addition to any model-specific policy, please refer to the General Publication Policy.