Computational Math Seminar: Ashar Ali

Computational Math Seminar 11/15/11

Ashar Ali

Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder

Date and time: 

Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - 3:30pm

Abstract: 

t has been widely established that radial diffusion is responsible for populating and depleting the radiation belts surrounding the Earth with high energy charged particles. Initially it was believed that this process is rather slow and relatively stable. But recently, satellite data from CRRES, SAMPEX, Polar, and others hints at radial diffusion being dependent on radial distance (L), intensity of magnetic activity (Kp) due to solar storms, and possibly other parameters. The debate between the importance of local heating and radial diffusion is one of the major reasons for the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission being launched by NASA in 2012. Our goal is to use the CRRES magnetometer data to estimate the power spectral density of the geomagnetic field and then use it to determine the electromagnetic radial diffusion coefficients as they depend on L and Kp.