MIST

Magnetosphere, Ionosphere and Solar-Terrestrial

Latest news

Winners of Rishbeth Prizes 2023

We are pleased to announce that following Spring MIST 2023 the Rishbeth Prizes this year are awarded to Sophie Maguire (University of Birmingham) and Rachel Black (University of Exeter).

Sophie wins the prize for the best MIST student talk which was entitled “Large-scale plasma structures and scintillation in the high-latitude ionosphere”. Rachel wins the best MIST poster prize, for a poster entitled “Investigating different methods of chorus wave identification within the radiation belts”. Congratulations to both Sophie and Rachel!

As prize winners, Sophie and Rachel will be invited to write articles for Astronomy & Geophysics, which we look forward to reading.

MIST Council extends their thanks to the University of Birmingham for hosting the Spring MIST meeting 2023, and to the Royal Astronomical Society for their generous and continued support of the Rishbeth Prizes.

Nominations for MIST Council

We are pleased to open nominations for MIST Council. There are two positions available (detailed below), and elected candidates would join Beatriz Sanchez-Cano, Jasmine Kaur Sandhu, Andy Smith, Maria-Theresia Walach, and Emma Woodfield on Council. The nomination deadline is Friday 26 May.

Council positions open for nomination

  • MIST Councillor - a three year term (2023 - 2026). Everyone is eligible.
  • MIST Student Representative - a one year term (2023 - 2024). Only PhD students are eligible. See below for further details.

About being on MIST Council


If you would like to find out more about being on Council and what it can involve, please feel free to email any of us (email contacts below) with any of your informal enquiries! You can also find out more about MIST activities at mist.ac.uk.

Rosie Hodnett (current MIST Student Representative) has summarised their experience on MIST Council below:
"I have really enjoyed being the PhD representative on the MIST council and would like to encourage other PhD students to nominate themselves for the position. Some of the activities that I have been involved in include leading the organisation of Autumn MIST, leading the online seminar series and I have had the opportunity to chair sessions at conferences. These are examples of what you could expect to take part in whilst being on MIST council, but the council will welcome any other ideas you have. If anyone has any questions, please email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..”

How to nominate

If you would like to stand for election or you are nominating someone else (with their agreement!) please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Friday 26 May. If there is a surplus of nominations for a role, then an online vote will be carried out with the community. Please include the following details in the nomination:
  • Name
  • Position (Councillor/Student Rep.)
  • Nomination Statement (150 words max including a bit about the nominee and your reasons for nominating. This will be circulated to the community in the event of a vote.)
 
MIST Council contact details

Rosie Hodnett - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mathew Owens - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Beatriz Sanchez-Cano - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jasmine Kaur Sandhu - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Andy Smith - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Maria-Theresia Walach - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Emma Woodfield - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
MIST Council email - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

RAS Awards

The Royal Astronomical Society announced their award recipients last week, and MIST Council would like to congratulate all that received an award. In particular, we would like to highlight the following members of the MIST Community, whose work has been recognised:
  • Professor Nick Achilleos (University College London) - Chapman Medal
  • Dr Oliver Allanson (University of Birmingham) - Fowler Award
  • Dr Ravindra Desai (University of Warwick) - Winton Award & RAS Higher Education Award
  • Professor Marina Galand (Imperial College London) - James Dungey Lecture

New MIST Council 2021-

There have been some recent ingoings and outgoings at MIST Council - please see below our current composition!:

  • Oliver Allanson, Exeter (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), to 2024 -- Chair
  • Beatriz Sánchez-Cano, Leicester (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), to 2024
  • Mathew Owens, Reading (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), to 2023
  • Jasmine Sandhu, Northumbria (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), to 2023 -- Vice-Chair
  • Maria-Theresia Walach, Lancaster (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), to 2022
  • Sarah Badman, Lancaster (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), to 2022
    (co-opted in 2021 in lieu of outgoing councillor Greg Hunt)

Charter amendment and MIST Council elections open

Nominations for MIST Council open today and run through to 8 August 2021! Please feel free to put yourself forward for election – the voting will open shortly after the deadline and run through to the end of August. The positions available are:

  • 2 members of MIST Council
  • 1 student representative (pending the amendment below passing)

Please email nominations to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 8 August 2021. Thank you!

Charter amendment

We also move to amend the following articles of the MIST Charter as demonstrated below. Bold type indicates additions and struck text indicates deletions. Please respond to the email on the MIST mailing list before 8 August 2021 if you would like to object to the amendment; MIST Charter provides that it will pass if less than 10% of the mailing list opposes its passing. 

4.1  MIST council is the collective term for the officers of MIST and consists of six individuals and one student representative from the MIST community.

5.1 Members of MIST council serve terms of three years, except for the student representative who serves a term of one year.

5.2 Elections will be announced at the Spring MIST meeting and voting must begin within two months of the Spring MIST meeting. Two slots on MIST council will be open in a given normal election year, alongside the student representative.

5.10 Candidates for student representative must not have submitted their PhD thesis at the time that nominations close.

Nuggets of MIST science, summarising recent papers from the UK MIST community in a bitesize format.

If you would like to submit a nugget, please fill in the following form: https://forms.gle/Pn3mL73kHLn4VEZ66 and we will arrange a slot for you in the schedule. Nuggets should be 100–300 words long and include a figure/animation. Please get in touch!
If you have any issues with the form, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

SuperDARN Observations During Geomagnetic Storms, Geomagnetically Active Times, and Enhanced Solar Wind Driving

by Maria-Theresia Walach (Lancaster University)

At Earth, solar wind coupling drives large scale convection of field lines: antisunward flow of open field lines at high latitudes and the return flow of closed field lines at lower latitudes. This convection can be observed through measurements of the ionosphere, for example using measurements from SuperDARN, an international network of ground based radars, purposely built to study ionospheric convection. We use 7 years of Super Dual Auroral Radar (SuperDARN) data to study ionospheric convection during geomagnetic storms, geomagnetically active times and solar wind driven times. Using the most recent years of SuperDARN data allows us to study ionospheric convection at the mid-latitudes with a field-of-view spanning from the pole to 40 degrees of magnetic latitude.

In this study, we address a number of questions; for example, do we make similar SuperDARN observations during similar solar wind driving during nonstorm time as during storm time? Do SuperDARN observations change throughout the different phases of a storm? Where do we see the fastest flows with SuperDARN, and is it linked to the extent of latitudinal coverage from the radars? Does the latitudinal range of the convection, given, for example, by the return flow region, stay constant throughout a storm? We find that initial and recovery phases of geomagnetic storms show similar convection as enhanced solar wind driving when no geomagnetic storm occurs.

One of the key findings showing the change of regime between the initial, main, and recovery phase of the storm is shown in the figure: it shows the varying relationship between the flow reversal boundary (here FRB but otherwise known as the open-closed field line boundary or polar cap boundary) and the Heppner-Maynard boundary (here HMB, which corresponds to the lower latitude boundary where the ionospheric convection electric field approaches 0 kV). The blue line shows the line of best fit and the data distribution along it, indicates that the boundaries must expand and contract together, however, this happens at different rates during the different storm phases, producing an inflated return flow region during the main phase of the storm. 

For more information, please see the paper below:

Walach, M.‐T., & Grocott, A. ( 2019). SuperDARN observations during geomagnetic storms, geomagnetically active times, and enhanced solar wind driving. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 124. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JA026816

Figure: Colatitude location of the flow reversal boundary (FRB) against the Heppner‐Maynard boundary (HMB) during the three phases of geomagnetic storms (only using maps where n ≥ 200). The dashed black lines show the line of unity and the black contours correspond to where the normalized data point density corresponds to 0.005, 0.01, 0.015, and 0.02.

Exploring Key Characteristics in Saturn’s Infrared Auroral Emissions Using VLT-CRIRES: H3+ Intensities, Ion Line-of-Sight Velocities, and Rotational Temperatures

by Nahid Chowdhury (University of Leicester)

Saturn’s aurorae are generated by interactions between high-energy charged particles and neutral atoms in the upper atmosphere. Infrared observations of auroral emissions make use of H3+ – a dominant hydrogen ion in Saturn’s ionosphere – that acts as a tracer of energy injected into the ionosphere.

We analysed observations taken in May 2013 of Saturn’s northern infrared auroral emissions with the Very Large Telescope in Chile using the CRIRES instrument. The use of adaptive optics, combined with the high spectral resolution of VLT-CRIRES (100,000), meant that this dataset offered an unprecedented spatially and spectrally resolved ground-based view of Saturn's infrared aurora. Using discrete H3+ emission lines, we derived dawn-to-dusk auroral emission intensity, ion line-of-sight velocity, and thermospheric temperature profiles, allowing us to probe the physical properties of Saturn’s polar atmosphere.

Our analysis showed an enhancement in the dawn-side auroral emission intensity, a common feature that is known to be linked with solar-wind compressions in the kronian magnetosphere, and the presence of a localised dark region in the aurora very close to the pole. The ion line-of-sight velocity profile revealed previously unknown smaller-scale structures in the ion flows. In particular, the ion flows near the centre of the pole (at position B in Figure 1) could be consistent with the behaviour of a relatively small ionospheric polar vortex whereby the ions are interrupting the general dawn-to-dusk trend in movement to instead adopt a very sharp shearing motion of ions first toward midnight and then almost immediately back toward noon. Our thermospheric temperature derivations also reveal a very subtle temperature gradient that increases from 350 K on the dawn-side of the pole to 389 K on the dusk-side.

This work has bought to light complex features in the behaviour of H3+ ions in Saturn’s upper atmosphere for the first time and highlights the need for additional analyses of two-dimensional scanned maps of Saturn’s auroral regions with a view to addressing some of the major outstanding questions surrounding Saturn’s thermosphere-ionosphere-magnetosphere interaction.

For more information, please see the paper below:

Chowdhury, M. N., Stallard, T. S., Melin, H., & Johnson, R. E. ( 2019). Exploring key characteristics in Saturn's infrared auroral emissions using VLT‐CRIRES: H3+intensities, ion line‐of‐sight velocities, and rotational temperatures. Geophysical Research Letters, 46. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL083250.

 Plot showing the ion line-of-sight velocities and emission intensity as a function of colatitude.

Figure 1: The ion line-of-sight velocity and auroral emission intensity profiles are plotted as a function of co-latitude on the planet. Evidence for ion flows possibly consistent with the behaviour of an intriguing ionospheric polar vortex is adjacent to the area marked by the letter B, between approximately 0⁰ and 5⁰ co-latitude on the dawn-side of Saturn’s northern pole.

Directed network of substorms using SuperMAG ground-based magnetometer data

by Lauren Orr (University of Warwick)

Space weather can cause large-scale currents in the ionosphere which generate disturbances of magnetic fields on the ground. These are observed by >100 magnetometer stations on the ground. Network analysis can extract the important information from these many observations and present it as a few key parameters that indicate how severe the ground impact will be. We quantify the spatio-temporal evolution of the substorm ionospheric current system utilizing the SuperMAG 100+ magnetometers, constructing dynamical directed networks from this data for the first time. 

Networks are a common analysis tool in societal data, where people are linked based on various social relationships. Other examples of networks include the world wide web, where websites are connected via hyperlinks, or maps where places are linked via roads. We have constructed networks from the magnetometer observations of substorms, where magnetometers are linked if there is significant correlation between the observations. If the canonical cross-correlation (CCC) between vector magnetic field perturbations observed at two magnetometer stations exceeds a threshold, they form a network connection. The time lag at which CCC is maximal, |τC|, determines the direction of propagation or expansion of the structure captured by the network connection. If spatial correlation reflects ionospheric current patterns, network properties can test different models for the evolving substorm current system.

In this study, we select 86 isolated substorms based on nightside ground station coverage. The results are shown for both a single event and for all substorms in the figure. We find, and obtain the timings for, a consistent picture in which the classic substorm current wedge (SCW) forms, quantifying both formation and expansion. A current system is seen pre-midnight following the SCW westward expansion. Later, there is a weaker signal of eastward expansion.  Finally, there is evidence of substorm-enhanced magnetospheric convection. These results demonstrate the capabilities of network analysis to understand magnetospheric dynamics and provide new insight into how the SCW develops and evolves during substorms.

For more information please see the paper below:

Orr, L.,  Chapman, S. C., and  Gjerloev, J. W.. ( 2019),  Directed network of substorms using SuperMAG ground‐based magnetometer data. Geophys. Res. Lett.,  46. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082824

 Plots showing the number of connections as a function of normalised time, for different polar regions.

Figure: The normalized number of connections, α(t',τC), is binned by the lag of maximal canonical cross-correlation, |τC|. Each panel stacks, one above the other, α(t',τC) versus normalized time, t’, for |τC|≤15. The regions are indicated on the polar plot and the regions were determined using Polar VIS images of the auroral bulge at the time of maximum expansion. Region B (around onset) exhibits a rapid increase in correlation following substorm onset.

Long-term variations in solar wind parameters, magnetopause location, and geomagnetic activity over the last five solar cycles

by Andrey Samsonov (Mullard Space Science Laboratory, UCL)

The magnetopause is a natural boundary between the solar wind and magnetospheric plasmas. Geosynchronous orbit, where numerous communications, meteorological and GPS satellites operate, is usually located in the magnetosphere but occasionally due to variable solar wind conditions the magnetosphere may significantly compress and those satellites will cross the magnetopause and get in direct contact with the solar wind plasma. Fast streams of dense solar wind plasma as well as solar energetic particles might damage the satellites. Therefore the study of variations of the magnetopause standoff distance is an important problem of space physics.  The magnetopause location can be described by empirical models (e.g. Shue et al., 1998; Lin et al., 2010).

In our recent work, we studied long term changes in the magnetopause position. We use both OMNI solar wind observations and empirical magnetopause models to reconstruct time series of the magnetopause standoff distance for nearly five solar cycles (from 1966 to 2018). The magnetopause standoff distance on this time scale depends mostly on the solar wind dynamic pressure (Pdyn). The 11-year solar cycles in the Pdyn variations are superimposed by an increasing trend before 1991 and a decreasing trend between 1991 and 2009. Correspondingly, we find that the standoff distance predicted by magnetopause models increases by nearly 2 Rfrom 1991 to 2009. The annual sunspot number (SSN), IMF magnitude and magnetospheric geomagnetic activity indices display the same trends as the dynamic pressure. We calculate extreme solar wind parameters and magnetopause standoff distance in each year using daily values and find that both extremely small and large standoff distances during a solar cycle preferably occur at solar maximum rather than at solar minimum (see figure below).

Furthermore, we calculated correlations between annual average solar wind and magnetospheric parameters, and the SSN. The annual IMF magnitude well correlates with SSN with a zero time lag, while the annual Pdyn correlates reasonably well with the SSN but with 3-years time lag. Both the annual solar wind density and velocity well correlate with the dynamic pressure, but the correlation coefficient is higher for density than for velocity. The annual Kp index better correlates with Pdyn, while Dst index better correlates with Bs (negative IMF Bz). This correlation analysis helps to better understand relations between solar, solar wind and magnetospheric parameters on the long time scale.

The knowledge of predicted magnetopause position for the next solar cycle is important for future space missions, especially for those which are intended to observe the dayside magnetopause whether in situ or remotely. One of the forthcoming missions which will study variations of the dayside magnetopause is the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE).

For more information, please see the paper below:

Samsonov, A. A., Bogdanova, Y. V., Branduardi‐Raymont, G., Safrankova, J., Nemecek, Z., & Park, J.‐S. ( 2019). Long‐term variations in solar wind parameters, magnetopause location, and geomagnetic activity over the last five solar cycles. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 124. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JA026355

Figure: The sunspot numbers, average and extreme IMF magnitude and Bz, IMF cone angle (the angle between IMF vector and xaxis), solar wind dynamic pressure and velocity, magnetopause standoff distance (solid lines for Shue et al.'s model and dashed lines for Lin et al.'s model), and geomagnetic Dst index. Annual average values shown by black, daily maximal and minimal values for each year shown by red and blue. Vertical lines separate solar cycles as indicated by numbers at the top.

Origin of the extended Mars radar blackout of September 2017

By Beatriz Sánchez-Cano (University of Leicester)

Several instrument operations, as well as communication systems with rovers at the surface, depend on radio signals that propagate throughout the atmosphere of Mars. This is the case for two radars currently operational in Mars’ orbit, sounding the ionosphere, surface and subsurface of the planet: The Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) on board Mars Express, which operates between 0.1 and 5.5 MHz, and the Shallow Radar (SHARAD) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which operates at 20 MHz. However, both radars typically suffer from complete blackouts for several days (and even weeks) when solar storms hit Mars. It is thought that an increase in the electron density of the lower ionosphere below 100 km occurs, where even a small enhancement in ionization significantly increases the signal attenuation. In analogy with Earth, some works suggest that solar protons of tens of MeV can cause these absorption layers. However, at Mars, the current origin andlong duration is not known.

Sánchez-Cano et al. (2019) focused on both the MARSIS and SHARAD radar performances during a powerful solar storm that hit Mars in September 2017. The space weather event consisted of a X8.2-class flare emitted by the Active Region 12673 at the western limb of the solar disk on 10 September 2017 (Figure 1a). This was followed by solar energetic particles (ions and electrons) that arrived at Mars few hours later, as recorded by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission (see Figure 1b,c). Based on MAVEN observations and numerical simulations of energetic electron precipitation, Sánchez-Cano et al. (2019) found that high energy electrons (and not protons) were the main ionization source, creating a dense layer of ions and electrons of magnitude ~1010 m-3 at ~90 km on the Martian nightside. For frequencies between 3 and 20 MHz, the peak absorption level is found at 70 km altitude, and the layer was composed mainly of O2+, the main Martian ionosphere component. This layer attenuated radar signals continuously for 10 days, preventing the radars from receiving any HF signals from the planetary surface across a planetary scale (Figure 1d). This contrasts with the typical few hour durations that these phenomena have at Earth.

This work highlights the need for careful assessments of radar performances for future operational systems, especially during space weather events. During these events, a good characterization of the low ionosphere is necessary for radar operations (and other instruments that use HF radio links), operational planning, as well as for communications with the Martian surface in the HF range.

For more information please see the paper below:

Sánchez‐Cano, B., Blelly, P.‐L., Lester, M., Witasse, O., Cartacci, M., Orosei, R., et al ( 2019). Origin of the extended Mars radar blackout of September 2017. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 124. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JA026403

Figure 1: (a) MAVEN-EUV irradiance observations of wavelength 0.1-7 nm. (b) MAVEN-SEP ion differential flux spectra. (c) MAVEN-SEP electron differential flux spectra. (d) Each symbol denotes when MARSIS and SHARAD were in operation. Empty symbols designate the cases when the surface was observed, and filled symbols when was not observed. The exception are green diamonds that indicate the times when SHARAD observed a highly blurry surface.