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Magnetosphere, Ionosphere and Solar-Terrestrial

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Call for applications for STFC Public Engagement Early-Career Researcher Forum

 

The STFC Public Engagement Early-Career Researcher Forum (the ‘PEER Forum’) will support talented scientists and engineers in the early stages of their career to develop their public engagement and outreach goals, to ensure the next generation of STFC scientists and engineers continue to deliver the highest quality of purposeful, audience-driven public engagement.

Applications are being taken until 4pm on 3 June 2021. If you would like to apply, visit the PEER Forum website, and if you have queries This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The PEER Forum aims:

  • To foster peer learning and support between early career scientists and engineers with similar passion for public engagement and outreach, thus developing a peer support network that goes beyond an individual’s term in the forum 
  • To foster a better knowledge and understanding of the support mechanisms available from STFC and other organisations, including funding mechanisms, evaluation, and reporting. As well as how to successfully access and utilise this support 
  • To explore the realities of delivering and leading public engagement as an early career professional and build an evidence base to inform and influence STFC and by extension UKRI’s approaches to public engagement, giving an effective voice to early career researchers

What will participation in the Forum involve?

Participants in the PEER Forum will meet face-to-face at least twice per year to share learning and to participate in session that will strengthen the depth and breadth of their understanding of public engagement and outreach.

Who can apply to join the Forum?

The PEER Forum is for practising early-career scientists and engineers who have passion and ambition for carrying out excellent public engagement alongside, and complementary to, their career in science or engineering. We are seeking Forum members from across the breadth of STFC’s pure and applied science and technology remit.

The specific personal requirements of PEER Forum membership are that members:

  • Have completed (or currently studying for – including apprentices and PhD students) their highest level of academic qualification within the last ten years (not including any career breaks)
  • Are employed at a Higher Education Institute, or a research-intensive Public Sector Research Organisation or Research Laboratory (including STFC’s own national laboratories)
  • Work within a science and technology field in STFC’s remit, or with a strong inter-disciplinary connection to STFC’s remit, or use an STFC facility to enable their own research
  • Clearly describe their track record of experience in their field, corresponding to the length of their career to date
  • Clearly describe their track record of delivering and leading, or seeking the opportunity to lead, public engagement and/or outreach
  • Can provide insight into their experiences in public engagement and/or outreach and also evidence one or more of
  • Inspiring others
  • Delivering impact
  • Demonstrating creativity
  • Introducing transformative ideas and/or inventions
  • Building and sustaining collaborations/networks
  • Are keen communicators with a willingness to contribute to the success of a UK-wide network

    • https://stfc.ukri.org/public-engagement/training-and-support/peer-forum/  

    Astronet Science Vision & Infrastructure Roadmap

     

    Astronet is a consortium of European funding agencies, established for the purpose of providing advice on long-term planning and development of European Astronomy. Setup in 2005, its members include most of the major European astronomy nations, with associated links to the European Space Agency, the European Southern Observatory, SKA, and the European Astronomical Society, among others. The purpose of the Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap is to deliver a coordinated vision covering the entire breadth of astronomical research, from the origin and early development of the Universe to our own solar system.

    The first European Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap for Astronomy was created by Astronet, using EU funds, in 2008/09, and updated in 2014/15. Astronet is now developing a new Science Vision & Infrastructure Roadmap, in a single document with an outlook for the next 20 years. A delivery date to European funding agencies of mid-2021 is anticipated. 

    The Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap revolves around the research themes listed below:

    • Origin and evolution of the Universe
    • Formation and evolution of galaxies
    • Formation & evolution of stars
    • Formation & evolution of planetary systems
    • Understanding the solar system and conditions for life

    but will include cross-cutting aspects such as computing and training and sustainability.

     

    After some delays due to the global pandemic, the first drafts of the chapters for the document are now available from the Panels asked to draft them, for you to view and comment on. For the Science Vision & Roadmap to be truly representative it is essential we take account of the views of as much of the European astronomy and space science community as possible – so your input is really valued by the Panels and Astronet. Please leave any comments, feedback or questions on the site by 1 May 2021.

    It is intended that a virtual “town hall” style event will be held in late Spring 2021, where an update on the project and responses to the feedback will be provided.

    Equitable Letters in Space Physics (ELSP)

    Equitable Letters for Space Physics (ELSP) is a project to encourage merit-based recommendations and nominations in the space physics community by providing resources for letter writing and reviews of recommendation and nomination letters. You can learn more about ELSP's mission and find both letter writing and implicit bias resources at the ELSP website.

    ELSP seeks to achieve this goal by:

    1. Providing resources for people writing letters of recommendation and award nomination at the undergraduate level and above.
    2. Providing resources for people wishing to learn about different implicit biases and lessen their manifestation.
    3. Providing reviews of recommendation and nomination letters, with the goal of lessening implicit bias in these letters.

    At the moment, ELSP is seeking volunteers to participate as reviewers in the letter submission system. This system will function similarly to double-blind journal article reviews, with the ELSP executive director acting as editor.The ELSP board of directors is Angeline G. Burrell; John Coxon; Alexa Halford; McArthur Jones Jr.; and Kate Zawdie. If you have more questions or would like to participate, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

    Call for proposals for ESA's Living Planet Fellowship

    ESA is currently inviting proposals for their Living Planet Fellowship with a deadline of 15 March 2021. These fellowships, worth a maximum of €110k, are intended:

    To support young scientists, at post-doctoral level, to undertake cutting-edge research in Earth Observation, Earth System Science or Climate Research, maximising the scientific return of ESA and European EO missions and datasets through the development of novel EO methods, techniques and products, and by delivering excellent scientific results addressing the grand Earth Science challenges of the next decade, enabling improved predictions of the physical interaction of society with the Earth system.

    Interested candidates need to propose a two-year-long research plan which contributes to either of the two themes of the fellowship: "Advancing novel methods and techniques" or "Advancing Earth system science". The call also includes opportunities in the use of cloud computing capabilities; to support small ground-based experiments and in situ data collection; and a visiting scientist scheme to join the new ESA Earth System Science Hub.

    Questions related to the call can be submitted via email, and must be "not later than two weeks before the Closing Date" (i.e. by the end of February 2021). The timeline for the fellowships is as follows:

    Milestone Date
    Submission of proposals 15 March 2021 
    Communication of results* Q2 2021
    Beginning of activities* Q3 2021

    *tentative

    "Mental Health and Wellbeing in the MIST Community": A series of panel discussions

    We are hosting a series of pre-recorded panel discussions on the topic of "Mental Health and Wellbeing in the MIST Community", exploring the sources and impacts within our community as well as discussing ways to move forwards. The discussions will focus on both individual and community-wide perspectives, and will consider perspectives from a range of career stages. The panel discussions will separately focus on views from a) PhD students, b) PDRAs, and c) Tenure positions. 
     
    To ensure that the discussion focuses on the needs and issues most important to the MIST Community, we request your input on questions that you would like to pose to the panel, as well as specific topics that you would like to see covered. To suggest questions & topics, please use the following form: https://forms.gle/J4QS5JdaVCo1hF6z7 and submit your suggestions by Friday 26 February. Please note that any responses on the form are completely anonymous.
     
    For support with mental health and wellbeing concerns, we recommend the following resources: https://ras.ac.uk/education-and-careers/places-you-can-find-support.
     
    If you have any other questions, concerns, or would like to discuss anything in further detail, please get in touch at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

    From Fuji to the F-region: 3 months in Japan studying thermosphere-ionosphere coupling

    by Daniel Billett

    Daniel Billett is a third year PhD student at Lancaster University. Daniel's research focuses on the high latitude thermosphere - ionosphere coupling at Earth, and in this blog post Daniel talks about taking part in the JSPS Short Term Fellowship Program.

    The JSPS Fellowship Program

    This spring, I had the privilege of spending 3 months in Japan as part of the JSPS short term fellowship program. These are open to both post-docs, as well as PhD students, for a period of anywhere between 1 and 12 months. For PhD students, they are similar to the yearly JSPS summer program, but are a bit more flexible in terms of start dates and tenure. Which suits me, as I don’t do too well in the 40°C+ temperatures you see in the Japanese summers!

    I am currently in the 3rd year of my PhD Lancaster University. However, when I first heard about JSPS short-term fellowship in a group-wide email from my supervisor, I was just entering my 2nd year. I initially thought I wasn’t eligible, but the only restriction for PhD students is that you must be within two years of completion when you begin research in Japan.

    In December 2017 I submitted my application, which included a detailed proposal describing the research I planned to do during the fellowship. For the first year of my PhD, I had mainly been using data from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN), and had become very interested in how the ionosphere and thermosphere interacted with each other. Up until then I had been using a statistical model for ionospheric conductivity, but knew that under real circumstances, the huge variability of the aurora would mean that it was often a big underestimation. The extra ionisation could lead to big changes in the coupling mechanism between thermospheric neutrals and the ionospheric plasma, which I wanted to investigate more closely.

    It’s up to you which institution in Japan you visit, but I recommend talking to your supervisors about anyone they might know who is a specialist in the area you want to research. For me, it was suggested to contact Professor Keisuke Hosokawa of the University of Electro-Communications (UEC), Tokyo. This was someone who had not only had experience with using SuperDARN data before, but was also heavily involved with numerous projects centred around auroral dynamics. We discussed the proposal outline for a couple of months prior to submission to make sure it was original, exciting and detailed. Unlike NERC or STFC however, JSPS fund research from all areas of science from philosophy to medicine, so it’s also important to not be get too technical.

    At the end of March 2018, I found out I was successful. All in all, the application process was a bit old fashioned, as I had to send everything off by mail. This included a big pack of application documents to the JSPS headquarters in London, as well as several signed letters to and from Japan. Luckily however, it looks like it can now all be done online, albeit only in Japanese! But that’s okay, because now you can get your Japanese host to apply on your behalf, lucky them! Applying for a Japanese work visa from the embassy was relatively straightforward in comparison, as there are many agents available if you don’t have the capability to do several trips to London. With all things sorted, I started the project in Japan in February 2019.

    Far from home

    Tokyo, famed for its seemingly never-ending urban sprawl and jam-packed trains, is home to a number of institutions conducting MIST related research. One of those being UEC, situated in the suburb of Chofu. Tokyo is pretty overwhelming for someone who had never lived in a city bigger than Cardiff before, and to be suddenly thrust into a place with everything imaginable from Peach Coke to Pokémon centres was definitely a culture shock.

    Left: It wasn’t as good as I hoped. Right: Giant ceramic Pokémon statue at the Pokémon centre, Toshima.


    Left: Downtown Shinjuku. Right: One of the many 8-floor super arcades, featuring fully equipped mech-fighting facilities.

    Working with aurora

    Working with Professor Keisuke Hosokawa and the rest of the ionospheric research group at UEC was a great experience. I had never handled auroral data before, but found being surrounded by a room full of experts helped. I mainly used an instrument dubbed the “Svalcam”, an all-sky imager located on Svalbard and conveniently in the fields of view of two SuperDARN radars, the EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR) and a Scanning Doppler Imager (SCANDI). This meant we had all the information we needed: SuperDARN for what the plasma was doing, SCANDI for the neutrals and the ESR/Svalcam combo for conductivity. As an added bonus, all the instrument field-of-views reside well within the polar cap, giving us the unique ability to observe the dayside ionosphere during the polar night. The only thing left to do is figure out what we were looking for…

    Neutrals in the thermosphere behave like a bowl of soup. They get pushed around pretty easily and generally move from hot regions (the dayside) to the cold (nightside). When a spoon is thrown into the works however (ionospheric convection), the motion of the soup becomes strongly dictated by how the spoon is stirred (the ion-drag force). This is where the analogy breaks down however. Neutrals in the thermosphere don't collide very often with the ionospheric plasma, so they take a long time to speed up into the direction the convection spoon is trying to stir them. But then the aurora comes in; like adding a big batch of cornflower (additional ionisation), ion-neutral collisions are enhanced and therefore so is the strength of the ion-neutral coupling. A neutral wind "lag" which was previously thought to be on the order of hours can be minutes during periods of auroral activity.

    First panel: Svalcam 630nm intensity keogram showing poleward moving auroral forms. Second panel: Corresponding ESR electron density measurements. Third and fourth panels: Zonal and meridional velocity timeseries’ for both the plasma (red) and neutrals (blue). Billett et al. [in prep]. 

    During my JSPS fellowship I identified how the neutral wind lag responded to active aurora using conjunctive observations of auroral emissions from Svalcam, ionospheric electron density from the ESR, ion plasma velocity from SuperDARN, and neutral velocity from SCANDI. An example of these observations are shown above. For this example, we saw poleward moving auroral forms in the Svalcam data and corresponding short lived electron density enhancements in the ESR data. This increased plasma density should translate to more collisions between the plasma and neutrals, shortening the neutral wind time lag. The zonal (east-west) and meridional (north-south) velocities of the plasma measured by SuperDARN (red) and of the neutrals from SCANDI (blue) are also shown. We observed that when the poleward moving auroral features start (~07:30 UT), the neutrals experience a rapid velocity enhancement and match the plasma velocity in both components. Even when the meridional plasma velocity slows later on at around 08:15 UT, the neutrals continue at a high speed like when soup keeps spinning even after you finish stirring. This is because the neutrals have residual inertia, and is a phenomena known as the flywheel effect. Overall, this is what we expected to see, but gives confirmation that this is not only a nightside phenomenon. Poleward moving auroral forms are a well-studied auroral feature, which we have now shown to have a much greater impact beyond the ionosphere.

    Shooting off on the Shinkansen

    During my trip, I got the chance to see a bit of Japan outside of Tokyo. The incredible efficiency of Japanese trains are a bit of a stereotype, which is probably helped by the fact you can get a Shinkansen bullet train every 10 minutes from Tokyo to Osaka (300+ miles) and only use less than 2.5 hours of your life for the entire journey. If that's not enough, you get a spectacular view of Mt Fuji on the way. Highlights of my travels involved walking down the intense Dotonbori street in Osaka, eating Tebasaki chicken wings in Nagoya and walking the Philosophers path in Kyoto. I also got the opportunity to visit and present a seminar at Nagoya university, one of the Japanese SuperDARN institutions who maintain the radars at Hokkaido. This was also the first time I had seen SuperDARN equipment in person, albeit not attached to an antenna!

    Left: Mt Fuji from the Shinkansen. Middle: Dotonbori street, Osaka. Right: A Kyoto local enjoying the Philosophers path.

    Transmitter equipment for a set of SuperDARN antennas, currently living in the Nagoya university’s Institute for Space-Earth Enviroment workshop.

    Arigato Nippon

    Overall, I would wholly recommend a JSPS fellowship to any PhD student or post-doc who is interested in spending time in Japan. The country itself is beautiful, as well as a MIST research powerhouse. There are great opportunities to expand your future collaborations, and potentially extend your research focus to an area slightly different to what you’re used to.

    Also for all those interested in the work being conducted within the SuperDARN community, the SuperDARN workshop 2019 is taking place at the base of Mt Fuji in Fujiyoshida!

     

    If you have any more questions about Daniel's experience as a JSPS Short Term Fellow, then you can This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

    Some useful links:

    Information on the JSPS Short Term Fellowships can be found here.

    Details on SuperDARN Japan are available here, as well as information on the SuperDARN Workshop 2019.