Departmental Seminar

Space Physics and Life at Shandong University, Weihai China

Dr Alex Degeling
Space Science Institute, Shandong University

Space physics and space weather effects have become an increasingly high priority for research across the globe, as society has become increasingly reliant on technologies and infrastructure that are susceptible to variable conditions in near Earth space.  This environment is best characterized as a collisionless magnetized plasma, within-which energetic ions and electrons undergo dynamic interactions with plasma waves over a range of frequency spanning about 7 orders of magnitude (from mHz to 10kHz). Magnetic reconnection between solar wind–carried interplanetary magnetic field and Earth’s geomagnetic field, which occurs along the dayside magnetosphere boundary (the magnetopause) and also in the night-side magnetotail region, cause localised particle acceleration, and also drive plasma flows throughout the magnetosphere. These flows and energized particle populations are themselves susceptible to various plasma and magneto-hydrodynamic instabilities, further enriching the dynamical flow of mass, energy and momentum through the magnetosphere that arises from its interaction with the solar wind. 

In this talk I will give an overview of various topics of interest to the Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Interaction Group within the Space Science Institute at Shandong University, including (to name a few): multi-satellite observations of magnetic structures in the magnetosheath and magnetosphere; the effect of interplanetary magnetic field orientation on plasma flows from the magnetotail and auroral activity in the ionosphere; modelling and simulation studies of ultra-low frequency waves in the magnetosphere and their interaction with energetic radiation belt particles; and the effect of changes in the lunar radiation environment on water formation during transits of the moon through Earth’s magnetotail. 

Lastly, I will give a brief overview of my experiences and impressions as a foreign expert working and living in the city of Weihai, China, which is a small city (1 million inhabitants)  situated on the northern coastline of Shandong Bandao (Peninsular) bordering the Yellow Sea, about eight hundred kilometers to the East of Beijing.


Join the Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 862 5415 7750
Password: 268 701

Date & time

Tue 10 May 2022, 2.15–3.15pm

Location

Room:

Conference Room (Lv4.415) & Via Zoom

Audience

Members of RSPE welcome

Contact

(02)61253442