Super-Storms in the CEDAR Database

Super-Storms in the CEDAR Database

We present results for 11 super-storms at this site. Five of the storms are featured in the Sun-Earth Connections virtual conference (Nov 13-17, 2006), where two of these five have AMIE runs. Another five storms are featured with AMIE runs (7 storms total), two of which include TIMEGCM runs, and a final storm (6 Nov 2001) is included with satellite adjusted hemispheric electron and ion hemispheric power inputs which features the other 10 storms as well.

The AMIE data sets are linked below along with plots of AMIE and TIMEGCM runs, but the other data sets can be accessed using via the CEDAR Database (click on 'Data Services', 'Get/plot data' and proceed with 'Select a Date'; change URL from 'TAB' to 'INFO' to get parameter definitions). The instruments will be referred to with their 3-character name as described below (except for mltr which is 4-character for access to several MLT radars). They are also mostly linked below to the individual web pages with summary plots and access to the ascii tab files of selected days of the data. Anyone can look at the summary plots, but getting the data requires a cedar webname obtained by agreeing to the Rules of the Road (which includes contacting the Contact Persons about data usage) and filling out an access form. Sometimes the summary plots are not up-to-date, but the data can always be accessed via the CEDAR DB.

CEDAR Database data that occur on some or all (dst,eqb,ehp,gpi,imf; cof; wup) of the dates are:

Locations for these instruments can be seen on a global map.

The full list of super-storm with additional data from the CEDAR DB listed are:

  • 06-08 Apr 2000 (dst,eqb,ehp,gpi,imf,pfx,pcv; cof,kau,rpk; dvs,wup; mfp)
  • 15-16 Jul 2000 (dst,eqb,ehp,gpi,imf,pfx,pcv; mlh,ist,esr; hhf; cof,kau,rpk,wak,yam; dvs,wup; mfp)
  • 30 Mar-01 Apr 2001 (dst,eqb,ehp,gpi,imf,pfx,pcv; mlh; hhf; cof,kau,rpk,wak,yam; dvs,wup; ikf)
  • 06 Nov 2001 (dst,eqb,ehp,gpi,imf,pfx,pcv; esr; cof,kau,rpk,wak,yam; wup; p4p; mfp)
  • 28 Oct-01 Nov 2003 - SEC dates 29-30 Oct (dst,eqb,ehp,gpi,imf,pfx; adf,cof,dav,emr,kau,rpk,rtg,rth,saf,trf; wup; mtm; ikf)
  • 20-21 Nov 2003 - SEC date 20 Nov (dst,eqb,ehp,gpi,imf,pfx; adf,cof,dav,emr,kau,rpk,rtg,rth,saf,trf; wup; mtm; ikf)
  • SEC dates 07-10 Nov 2004 (dst,eqb.ehp,gpi,imf,pfx; jro,son; adf,cof,emr,kau,rpk,rth,saf,trf,wak; wup; csl; ikf,rfp)
  • 17-22 Jan 2005 (dst,eqb,ehp,gpi,imf; cof,rpk,saf,trf,wak; wup; csl; ikf,rfp)
  • SEC date 15 May 2005 (dst,eqb,ehp,gpi,imf; cof,rpk,saf,trf; wup; csl; ahf)
  • SEC date 24 Aug 2005 (dst,eqb,ehp,gpi,imf; cof,saf,trf; wup)
  • 07-15 Sep 2005 (dst,eqb,ehp,gpi,imf; jro,mlh,son: cof,saf,trf; wup; ahf)

  1. AMIE and some TIMEGCM Storms with Plots
  2. NOAA and DMSP Intersatellite Adjusted Hemispheric Power Data Sets

AMIE and some TIMEGCM Storms with Plots

Contact Person for AMIE and TIMEGCM: Gang Lu (ganglu@ucar.edu)
Web Page: http://cedarweb.hao.ucar.edu/storms/storms.html

AMIE potential and Joule heat patterns in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) are available every 5 minutes from the Assimilative Mapping of Ionospheric Electrodynamics (AMIE) code. Movies are also made from these AMIE 5 minute plots. The NH AMIE data for the electric potential and the Joule heat are in netCDF format. (Note that the cross-polar cap potential drop, although listed as in kV, is really in V.) The Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIMEGCM) movies are a satellite view at 45 N and 10 LT every 10 min of the electron density at the pressure level -4 (~120 km in the E region) and of the neutral temperature over the neutral wind vectors at the pressure level + 2 (~300 km in the F region). Some TIMEGCM plots are for the same periods as the AMIE plots, and some are for earlier days. (Thanks to Ben Foster for the TIMEGCM movies and IDL code to animate individual .png plots.) Please contact Gang Lu (ganglu@ucar.edu) about use of plots, movies and especially of the netCDF data files. Follow the Rules of the Road for the CEDAR Database.

  • April 6-8, 2000
  • July 15-16, 2000
  • Mar 30 - Apr 01, 2001
  • Oct 28 - Nov 01, 2003
  • Nov 20-21, 2003
  • Jan 17-22, 2005 IDL code to animate TIMEGCM .png plots (run as animatepng if .pngs in same directory, or run as animatepng,files="/path_name/*png")
  • Sep 07-15, 2005 IDL code to animate TIMEGCM .png plots (run as animatepng if .pngs in same directory, or run as animatepng,files="/path_name/*png")

    • NOAA and DMSP Intersatellite Adjusted Hemispheric Power Data Sets

    Contact Person for 'NOAA and DMSP Intersatellite Adjusted Hemispheric Power Data Sets': Barbara Emery (emery@ucar.edu)
    Web Sites:

  • http://cedarweb.hao.ucar.edu/instruments/ehp.html
  • http://cedarweb.hao.ucar.edu/ for data (click on 'Data Services', 'Get/plot data', choose the instrument 'estimated hemispheric power', select dates, choose 'record type' and pick one of the Emery types of data; change 'TAB' in URL to 'INFO' to get parameter descriptions and units).

    References to the 'NOAA and DMSP Intersatellite Adjusted Hemispheric Power' (Data Sets - original May 2005, revised May 2006, July 2006 and Nov 2006; NCAR Tech Report; JGR):

  • Emery, B. A., D. S. Evans, M. S. Greer, E. Holeman, K. Kadinsky-Cade, F. J. Rich and W. Xu, (2006), NOAA and DMSP Intersatellite Adjusted Hemispheric Power Data Sets, http://cedarweb.hao.ucar.edu and http://cedarweb.hao.ucar.edu/instruments/ehp.html, Coupling, Energetics and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) Database at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Boulder, Colorado, USA, Nov 2006.
  • Emery, B. A., D. S. Evans, M. S. Greer, E. Holeman, K. Kadinsky-Cade, F. J. Rich and W. Xu, The low energy auroral electron and ion hemispheric power after NOAA and DMSP intersatellite adjustments, NCAR Scientific and Technical Report, STR#470, 2006. .pdf text, tables, figures, and 88 appendix figures of Fianl Version (12/19/06)
  • Emery, B. A., V. Coumans, D. S. Evans, G. A. Germany, M. S. Greer, E. Holeman, K. Kadinsky-Cade, F. J. Rich and W. Xu, Seasonal and Kp variations in the auroral electron and ion hemispheric power after intersatellite adjustments, to be submitted to J. Geophys. Res. in Dec 2006

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The original National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hemispheric Power data were provided by the Space Environment Center, Boulder CO and the original Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Hemispheric Power data were provided by the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Hanscom AFB, MA via the CEDAR Database. The intersatellite adjusted revisions of these data and the hourly composite electron and ion hemispheric power were based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0208145. The CEDAR Database is also supported by the National Science Foundation.

    Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in the material are those of the author (B. Emery) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

    Intersatellite adjusted electron hemispheric power (Hpe) estimates are estimates of the auroral energy input in GW from low-energy NOAA (<20 keV) and DMSP (<30 keV) particle precipitation measurments into one hemisphere. NOAA observations began in 1978, and DMSP observations started in 1983. The adjustments to the original NOAA (or standardized NOAA) and DMSP Hp estimates were all within a factor of 2 (Emery et al., 2006, 2007). The southern hemisphere (SH) estimates are more reliable than those from the northern hemisphere (NH) since 18 of the 22 satellites covered the nighttime SH aurora. There is a increase in Hpe in winter compared to summer of 10-25% (Emery et al., 2007).

    Starting in 1998, the ground analysis of the NOAA SEM-2 satellites could separate the electron energy flux from the total (electron plus ion) energy flux. The resulting ion hemispheric power (Hpi = Hpt - Hpe) from ions < 20 keV were also adjusted between SEM-2 satellites, with a baseline determined by the DMSP-F13 estimate that ions between 20-30 keV contribute about 23% of the total ion energy flux < 30 keV (Emery et al., 2006, .pdf above). Typically, the ions <20 keV contribute about 10% of the total energy flux or total hemispheric power, more for low Kp. For active periods, about half the ion energy flux is from ions > 20 keV (Emery et al., 2006, 2007). There is a increase in Hpi in summer compared to winter of 10-30%, most for low Kp (Emery et al., 2007).

    Users are asked to follow the Rules of the Road for the CEDAR Database with regard to use of the intersatellite adjusted Hpe or Hpi data or any of the underlying particle precipitation data such as the pfx CEDAR DB particle flux 16-sec files from the NOAA SEM-2 satellites. The Rules of the Road include contacting Barbara Emery (emery@ucar.edu) or David Evans (for pfx), offer of possible co-authorship, and use of appropriate references. The pfx data are available up through 2004, but the 2005 and 2006 data will be put on-line within the next few months.

    Summary plots of the hourly average composite SH Hpe and Hpi data are available from 1978 at http://cedarweb.hao.ucar.edu/instruments/ehp.html. Users with cedar webnames can also retrieve the data from the DB with the 'data' links at this URL. (Hpe=code 365, Hpi=code 364, units 1.e+8 Watts).

    The Plots and data of intersatellite adjusted Hpe and Hpi are also available below for the storm dates. There are formats for the NOAA, DMSP, and hourly composite data. The Hpe values are * in the NH and x in the SH, while the Hpi values are diamonds in the NH and squares in the SH. The days with very large hemispheric ion energy fluxes in excess of 50 GW are 31 Mar 2001, 30-31 Oct 2003, 20 Nov 2003, 07 Nov 2004, 21 Jan 2005, 15 May 2005 and 24 Aug 2005. These are 7 of 8 periods total in 8 years described in a draft pdf by Emery et al.

    -Revised 22 Dec 2006 by emery@ucar.edu