RESEARCH // FOCUS Dr. Nikolai Pogorelov is the principal investigator for research to develop open-source solar atmosphere and inner heliosphere software models useful to predict space weather.
UAH leads $3.2 million solar software model effort to aid in space weather predictions
U
AH leads a project to develop open-source solar atmosphere and inner heliosphere software models useful to predict space weather that was awarded $3.2 million over three years by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA.
“We will develop an innovative, publicly available software that would make it possible to perform space weather simulations starting from the sun’s photosphere and extending to Earth’s orbit,” says Dr. Nikolai Pogorelov, the project’s principal investigator and a distinguished professor in UAH’s Department of Space Science and the UAH Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR). It is one of seven projects awarded. The team includes UAH, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (co-principal investigator Brian Van Straalen), 16
FOCUS // UAH RESE ARCH
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC;
structure, which will make it possible for
co-principal investigator Charles N.
its users to modify the individual com-
Arge), Marshall Space Flight Center
ponents when new observational data
(MSFC; co-principal investigator Ghee
sets become available from emerging
Fry), and two private companies,
space missions and our knowledge of
Predictive Science Inc. (co-principal
the physical processes governing solar
investigator Jon Linker) and Space
wind acceleration and propagation
Systems Research Corp. (co-principal
improves.”
investigator Lisa Upton). The fastest NASA and NSF supercom-
In addition to the inner heliosphere model, the team will develop new
puters will be employed. Dr. Pogorelov
solar surface transport and potential
is one 49 awardees nationwide to get
field models to describe the solar
NSF-approved 2020-2021 supercom-
atmosphere. That work will be done
puting time on Frontera, the fastest NSF
at Predictive Science Inc. and Space
supercomputer.
Systems Research Corp.
“This project is aimed to develop
“All our codes will be easily extensible
a new data-driven, time-dependent
for further development,” Dr. Pogorelov
model of the solar corona and inner
says.
heliosphere to predict the solar wind’s properties at Earth’s orbit,” he says. “This software will have a modular
“We expect that our software will serve the heliospheric and space weather research communities for many years.”
