Comprehensive Inner-Magnetosphere Ionosphere (CIMI) Model

Model Developer(s)
Mei-Ching H. Fok, Natalia Buzulukova
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Model Description
The Comprehensive Inner-Magnetosphere Ionosphere (CIMI) model is a bounce-averaged kinetic model of the ring current and radiation belts. This model calculates the temporal and spatial variation of the phase space density of ring current and radiation belt species: H+ and O+ in the energy range of 0.1 - 400 keV and electrons (e-) in the energy range of 1 - 4000 keV. The model considers particle drift in realistic, time-varying magnetic field, and self-consistnet electric field that is solved taking into account current closure in the ionosphere. CIMI also considers charge exchange loss, energy and pitch-angle diffusion due to whistler mode chorus waves and plasmaspheric hiss. The simulation region is from the dayside magnetopause to the nightside boundary at 10-15 earth radii. The model is an initial-boundary-value problem, so initial distribution and boundary distribution as a function of time are required to run the model.

Model Input

• 3D Magnetic Fields (Selection of Tsyganenko field models)
• Ionospheric Electric Potentials at CIMI poleward boundary at 70.3° magnetic latitude (e.g., Weimer 2005)
• Ionospheric quiet-time conductances (F10.7 solar irradiation index) and auroral conductances (Kp driven)
• Solar wind speed, density and magnetic field, Dst, AE, AL index values to obtain plasma boundary conditions and drive the wave power model and magnetic field model

Model Output

• Equatorial H+, O+ and e- fluxes as functions of time, energy and pitch angle. Fluxes at off-equator can be obtained by mapping flux along a field line according to the equatorial pitch-angle distribution.
• Plasmasphere density
• Ionospheric potentials, Region 2 field aligned current and electron precipitation.

Limitations and Caveats

• Strengths: Combine the strengths of the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM) and the Radiation Belt Environment (RBE) model.
• Limitations: This version of CIMI uses empirical magnetic field models of T96 or T04. It does not consider the magnetic perturbation from the ring current and the transport due to MHD waves.

References and relevant publications

• Fok, M.-C., R. A. Wolf, R. W. Spiro, and T. E. Moore, Comprehensive computational model of the Earth's ring current, J. Geophys. Res., 106, 8417-8424, 2001.
• Fok, M.-C., A. Glocer, Q. Zheng, R. B. Horne, N. P. Meredith, J. M. Albert, and T. Nagai, Recent developments in the radiation belt environment model, J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phys., 73 (2011), 1435-1443.
• Fok, M.-C., N. Y. Buzulukova, S.-H. Chen, A. Glocer, T. Nagai, P. Valek, and J. D. Perez (2014), The Comprehensive Inner Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Model, J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 119, 7522-7540, doi:10.1002/2014JA020239.

CCMC Contact(s)

301-286-1085

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