Extreme space weather studies: Addressing societal needs

Abstract:

Extreme space weather events can adversely impact the operations of critical modern-day technological infrastructure such as high-voltage electric power transmission grids. Understanding of coupled magnetosphere-ionosphere dynamics under extreme solar wind driving conditions is still a major challenge mainly because of a lack of data during such time intervals. This presentation will highlight some of the past and on-going investigations on extreme space weather events, and how these investigations are used to address societal needs. Particularly, I will describe how first principles physics-based 3-D global MHD models are playing a major role in advancing our knowledge on extreme geomagnetically induced currents. These MHD models represent a very important component of attempts to understand the response of the magnetosphere-ionosphere system to varying solar wind conditions.