THE GEOMAGNETIC FIELD UNDER THE HELIOSPHERIC FORCING. INFERRING EARTH INTERNAL STRUCTURE AND EVALUATING GEOPHYSICAL HAZARD OF SOLAR ERUPTIVE PHENOMENA

GENERAL DATA

Project title: The geomagnetic field under the heliospheric forcing. Inferring Earth internal structure and evaluating geophysical hazard of solar eruptive phenomena

Funding source: National Authority for Scientific Research (ANCS)

Contract: 93/5.10.2011
Programme: PN II - IDEI

Autoritatea contractanta: UNEFISCDI

Contractor: Institute of Geodynamics “Sabba S. Stefănescu” of the Romanian Academy

Project Director: Dr. Crişan Demetrescu, Corresponding Member of the Romanian Academy

Project period: 36 months

Total funds: 1500000 lei

Abstract

The proposed research aims at achieving an understanding of the space weather effects on conducting structures inside the Earth and on the surface electric field, with applications to a better knowledge of the internal structure of the Earth at continental (Europe) and country scales, on one hand, and to estimating the geophysical hazard of space weather at midlatitudes, on the other. It is a multi-and interdisciplinary approach, that envisages several objectives by means of which new aspects of the research in the field will be approached and developed:

- To derive the magnetic and electrical properties of the terrestrial lithosphere and mantle at continental and Romanian territory scales;

- To analyze solar eruptive processes and solar wind components responsible for geomagnetic hazardeous activity (geomagnetic storms and substorms) in the time interval 1964-2014;

- To model the geoelectrical field at the Earth’s surface as produced by various magnetospheric and ionospheric current systems;

- To evaluate the geophysical hazard for technological networks, associated to variations of the geolectric field during geomagnetic disturbances linked to the interaction of coronal mass ejections and high speed solar streams with the magnetosphere.

The synergistic research will be done by recognized specialists in various fields of Earth and Space sciences, presently with the Institute of Geodynamics, together with postdocs and PhD students to be included in the project.