Pre-announcement for a NOAA Solar Wind and L1 Requirements Workshop April 6-7

Determining the observing requirements for the DSCOVR follow-on

NOAA is planning to host a workshop in Boulder, CO to help define the observation requirements for the next operational solar wind monitor after NOAA/DSCOVR.  With the NOAA/DSCOVR satellite launch less than a year away, it is time to plan for what comes next and NOAA has already begun this process.

Calling instrument builders, scientists, modelers, commercial service providers and anyone with an interest in solar wind data or the impacts of space weather related to solar wind observations.  Geomagnetic storms, ionospheric storms and solar radiation storms all have some dependence on inputs that can be observed from the L1 Lagrange point.    In order to ensure that NOAA is considering all possibilities as it plans the DSCOVR follow-on, we invite the community to a workshop on observations and requirements that should be made from an orbit near the L1 Lagrange point.  The purpose of an L1 (or sub-L1) mission is to make the observations required to provide the best possible forecasts of space weather conditions.  The primary focus is on observations that are required to be made in-situ, though remote-sensing observations will be considered as appropriate.   Geomagnetic/ionospheric storm forecasting will be prioritized, though forecasting of other space weather conditions will be considered.  The current NOAA requirements being considered are given below.  Validation of, or changes to, the existing requirements and the inclusion of additional observations and requirements will be the focus of the workshop.  Determining the observations and priorities, and their associated requirements is the goal of the workshop.

The purpose of this pre-announcement is to gauge the community interest in a requirements workshop for the solar wind/L1.  The tentative plan is to hold this workshop in Boulder, CO immediately prior to the 2014 Space Weather Workshop, April 6 and/or April 7.

If you are interested in attending this meeting, send an e-mail to Doug Biesecker (doug.biesecker@noaa.gov) with your availability and desire to attend and what your particular interest would be.  Please redistribute this announcement within your institute as appropriate.

Strawman payload observables

Solar Wind Vector Magnetic Field – 0-±100nT every minute, accuracy of +/- 1nT

Solar Wind Thermal Plasma – Velocity (200-2000 km/s), accuracy of 5%; Density (1-100 cm^-3), accuracy of 20%; Temperature (0.04-2 MK), accuracy of 20%, every minute

Solar Wind Low Energy Ions – 50 keV-1 MeV with at least 4 differential flux channels every 5 minutes, accuracy of 20%

White Light CME imaging – FOV ~4-17 Rsun every 15 minutes