Using IPIM to Simulate the Ionosphere’s Response to Extreme Space Weather

<p>The IRAP Plasmasphere Ionosphere Model (IPIM) describes the transport equations of<br>ionospheric plasma species along magnetic closed field lines. As input, the previous iteration<br>of IPIM used basic models to provide estimations of the solar wind conditions, convection,<br>and precipitation within the ionosphere. In this presentation, we discuss the development of<br>a new operational version of IPIM as part of the EUHFORIA project to monitor and forecast<br>space weather conditions and hazards. The developments of the model include using in-situ<br>solar wind observations from the OMNI data set, ionospheric radar data of plasma motions<br>from the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN), and precipitation data from the<br>Ovation model, as inputs to the model. We present the first results from the latest IPIM<br>version, focussing on case study coronal mass ejections on 14th December 2006 and 14th<br>July 2012 which featured clear magnetic clouds and long-lasting southward magnetic field.<br>For these events, we explore simulations of plasma densities, temperature, and motions,<br>and compare with observations from EISCAT ionospheric radars and ionosonde launches.<br>With these results in mind, we will discuss the skill of using IPIM as a space weather<br>forecasting and analysis tool.</p>