2003 Polar Spacecraft Science Working Group Workshop

November 12-14, 2003
The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

The Science Working Group for the Polar spacecraft have organized an open, collaborative workshop to examine the basic natural processes surrounding the transfer of energy and momentum across the magnetopause and of electrodynamic coupling within the magnetosphere-ionosphere system.

The objective is to bring the Polar spacecraft observing teams together with the broader SEC modeling, observing and theory communities in order to bring focus to the current state of science understanding on the subject and to stimulate further collaborative work.

The meeting will be organized as a series of topical sessions focusing upon critical unsolved questions.

Exploring Interhemispherical Asymmetries:
How does the solar wind interaction with the magnetosphere lead to asymmetries in the MI coupling processes?
When do solar wind and IMF induced asymmetries dominate over seasonal effects?
Which substorm onset behaviors are symmetric between northern and southern hemispheres?
Are the effects of asymmetric ionospheric conductivity local or global?

Understanding inner magnetosphere particle acceleration and transport associated with high-speed solar wind streams:
Why are recurrent high speed solar wind streams more effective in producing intense radiation belts?
How can we relate the efficiency of various acceleration and loss processes to solar wind input?
What are the acceleration and transport mechanisms responsible for the sudden creation of new inner radiation belts?

Understanding the ion and electron diffusion regions, solitary wave structures, and the role of small scale field structures:
What terms in the generalized Ohm's law are important in controlling reconnection and the physics of sharp boundaries?
Are solitary wave structures localized within the magnetopause layer?
How do the Earth's bow shock and magnetopause mediate and facilitate the transfer of energy from the solar wind to the magnetosphere?
What are the conditions that favor steady and pulsed reconnection?

Impact of the Ionosphere on Geospace Processes:
How do ionospheric plasmas interacting at dayside boundary layers impact reconnecting processes?
Do terrestrial plasmas play a significant role in the formation and dynamics of the near-Earth plasma sheet during substorm dipolarizations and storms?
What is the linkage between solitary and kinetic Alfven waves and dynamic plasma acceleration processes?

The time will be divided approximately equally between presentations and discussion. An evening poster session will further extend the opportunity for collaborative discussions. Participation is open to everyone who can make a pertinent contribution to the topics. The Polar science teams extend a special invitation to those from the ground-based observatory and theoretical science and modeling communities.

Workshop Location
The Polar Spacecraft Workshop will be held in Iowa City, Iowa, (located in eastern Iowa ~25 miles south of Cedar Rapids, Iowa) on the University of Iowa campus in Room 104 of the Iowa Advanced Technology Lab., (corner of Madison and Market Streets)