- Email: [email protected]
The 2005 IRI workshop — A personal view, by Dr Lee-Anne McKinell
The 2005 IRI workshop was organized by the Ebro Observatory, located in Roquetes, Spain from 27 June to 1 July 2005. The theme of the 2005 workshop was 'New satellite and ground based data for IRI and comparison with regional models'.
Working in a small research group of only three researchers for the Mauritius Radio Telescope (MRT) survey, where each individual has different interests, this workshop was a breakthrough for me in getting to know many more astronomers and research students in Africa and abroad. One of the difficulties research students in small developing countries face, as also in my case, is to get observing time on international observatories. Through this workshop, I realized the usefulness of public databases and how they can help enormously in carrying out more interesting astrophysical studies
At this workshop, I presented one invited paper and two contributed papers, the first was on 'An auroral zone lower ionosphere model for IRI' (in session F on Ionospheric Variability), the second discussed 'Neural network based prediction techniques for global modelling of M(3000)F2 ionospheric parameter' (in the session A on F-region Modelling), and the third entitled 'GPS TEC and Ionosonde TEC over Grahamstown, South Africa: First Comparison' (in the session H on Total Electon Content).
The workshop expanded my understanding of extragalactic X-ray astrophysics. It was not only a place to learn about X-ray astronomy, but also a place to get to know about senior scientists as well as a fertile ground for new relationships and collaboration. I would like to express my gratitude to the organizing committee, to the people who made this workshop happening and, particularly, the COSPAR committee for funding my visit to Durban.
The first of these presentations was an invited paper and provided details of the development of a neural network-based ionosphere model for the auroral zone, which was completed in collaboration with Professor Martin Friedrich of the Graz University of Technology in Austria. This model is called IMAZ, and was built using a combination of data obtained from the European Incoherent Scatter Radar (EISCAT) and rocket-bourne measurements.
The 2005 IRI Workshop - A Personal View, by Dr Lee-Anne MeKinnell* [See main report on page 33]
The second paper listed represents research completed by a PhD student at Rhodes University, Mr Elijah Oyeyemi. As I was co-author on the paper and Mr Oyeyemi was unable to attend the workshop, I presented the paper which described an M(3000)F2 global model that has been developed using neural networks and a global database of available data describing the history of this parameter and its relationship with geophysical parameters.
he International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) is an international project jointly sponsored by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) and the International Union of Radio Science (URSI). The purpose of the IRI is to provide a global empirical ionospheric model using all available data sources. A workshop is held annually designed to discuss ways of improving the IRI, and consider new ideas and methods for modelling the ionosphere, and any other ionosphere related topics that are of interest to the IRI community. A group of scientists from different countries have formed a working group the responsibility of which is to ensure that the IRI is constantly improved.
T
The third paper was a collaborative effort between two colleagues from the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory (HMO) and myself, and represents very new research into the field of GPS-derived ionospheric information. In February 2005, a new GPS receiver
28
was installed at the Grahamstown ionospheric field station and co-located with the ionosonde. The results presented in this paper provided first comparisons between the total electron content (TEC) reported by an ionosonde and an equivalent value obtained from the GPS receiver data.
Lev Zelenyi Honoured
p
rofessor Lev Zelenyi was awarded the Officer Cross of Merit by the President of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski on 11 October 2004. He received this distinction on the occasion of the Days of Russian Science in Poland, which took place between t 1 and 15 October 2004. The award was made to Professor Zelenyi in recognition of his scientific achievements particularly with respect to his contributions to the joint Russian-Polish space effort, and his leading role in several space missions. Lev Zelenyi is a member of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency and is based in the Moscow Physical
The workshop programme was very well organized and provided for .the very latest developments in ionospheric modelling in the form of a session on total electron content as well as allowing for papers on ionospheric tomography. South Africa is making good progress in both of these fields and it was most interesting and instructive to hear the problems and solutions as dealt with by other groups. At the business meeting at the end of the workshop, it was decided that two of the South African modelling efforts, the M(3000)F2 global model as well as the IMAZ model would be incorporated as options into the next version of the IRI, to be released in the middle of 2006. In the next few months, we will work towards providing these two models in a suitable format for inclusion into IRI. The IRI workshops are extremely beneficial to the scientific community in that they bring together international scientists with a common goal: to improve the modelling and understanding of the ionosphere. Each scientist contributes towards this goal and the workshops are small enough for each contribution to be heard and debated. From a personal point of view, I find being a part of the IRI working group and attending these workshops hugely fulfilling and I thank the Committee on Space Research for making my attendance at IRI 2005 possible.
and Technical Institute, his special interests lying in plasma structure in the Earth's magnetosphere.
Lunar Exploration Prizes *Hermanus Magnetic Observatory, Hermanus, South Africa & Dept. of Physics and Electronics, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
hree prizes were awarded by the International Lunar Exploration Working Group at the International Lunar Conference held in Toronto Canada from 18 to 23 September 2005. The prizes were presented during the course of the award banquet at which Peter Diamandis (founder of
T
29
Working in a small research group of only three researchers for the Mauritius Radio Telescope (MRT) survey, where each individual has different interests, this workshop was a breakthrough for me in getting to know many more astronomers and research students in Africa and abroad. One of the difficulties research students in small developing countries face, as also in my case, is to get observing time on international observatories. Through this workshop, I realized the usefulness of public databases and how they can help enormously in carrying out more interesting astrophysical studies
At this workshop, I presented one invited paper and two contributed papers, the first was on 'An auroral zone lower ionosphere model for IRI' (in session F on Ionospheric Variability), the second discussed 'Neural network based prediction techniques for global modelling of M(3000)F2 ionospheric parameter' (in the session A on F-region Modelling), and the third entitled 'GPS TEC and Ionosonde TEC over Grahamstown, South Africa: First Comparison' (in the session H on Total Electon Content).
The workshop expanded my understanding of extragalactic X-ray astrophysics. It was not only a place to learn about X-ray astronomy, but also a place to get to know about senior scientists as well as a fertile ground for new relationships and collaboration. I would like to express my gratitude to the organizing committee, to the people who made this workshop happening and, particularly, the COSPAR committee for funding my visit to Durban.
The first of these presentations was an invited paper and provided details of the development of a neural network-based ionosphere model for the auroral zone, which was completed in collaboration with Professor Martin Friedrich of the Graz University of Technology in Austria. This model is called IMAZ, and was built using a combination of data obtained from the European Incoherent Scatter Radar (EISCAT) and rocket-bourne measurements.
The 2005 IRI Workshop - A Personal View, by Dr Lee-Anne MeKinnell* [See main report on page 33]
The second paper listed represents research completed by a PhD student at Rhodes University, Mr Elijah Oyeyemi. As I was co-author on the paper and Mr Oyeyemi was unable to attend the workshop, I presented the paper which described an M(3000)F2 global model that has been developed using neural networks and a global database of available data describing the history of this parameter and its relationship with geophysical parameters.
he International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) is an international project jointly sponsored by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) and the International Union of Radio Science (URSI). The purpose of the IRI is to provide a global empirical ionospheric model using all available data sources. A workshop is held annually designed to discuss ways of improving the IRI, and consider new ideas and methods for modelling the ionosphere, and any other ionosphere related topics that are of interest to the IRI community. A group of scientists from different countries have formed a working group the responsibility of which is to ensure that the IRI is constantly improved.
T
The third paper was a collaborative effort between two colleagues from the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory (HMO) and myself, and represents very new research into the field of GPS-derived ionospheric information. In February 2005, a new GPS receiver
28
was installed at the Grahamstown ionospheric field station and co-located with the ionosonde. The results presented in this paper provided first comparisons between the total electron content (TEC) reported by an ionosonde and an equivalent value obtained from the GPS receiver data.
Lev Zelenyi Honoured
p
rofessor Lev Zelenyi was awarded the Officer Cross of Merit by the President of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski on 11 October 2004. He received this distinction on the occasion of the Days of Russian Science in Poland, which took place between t 1 and 15 October 2004. The award was made to Professor Zelenyi in recognition of his scientific achievements particularly with respect to his contributions to the joint Russian-Polish space effort, and his leading role in several space missions. Lev Zelenyi is a member of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency and is based in the Moscow Physical
The workshop programme was very well organized and provided for .the very latest developments in ionospheric modelling in the form of a session on total electron content as well as allowing for papers on ionospheric tomography. South Africa is making good progress in both of these fields and it was most interesting and instructive to hear the problems and solutions as dealt with by other groups. At the business meeting at the end of the workshop, it was decided that two of the South African modelling efforts, the M(3000)F2 global model as well as the IMAZ model would be incorporated as options into the next version of the IRI, to be released in the middle of 2006. In the next few months, we will work towards providing these two models in a suitable format for inclusion into IRI. The IRI workshops are extremely beneficial to the scientific community in that they bring together international scientists with a common goal: to improve the modelling and understanding of the ionosphere. Each scientist contributes towards this goal and the workshops are small enough for each contribution to be heard and debated. From a personal point of view, I find being a part of the IRI working group and attending these workshops hugely fulfilling and I thank the Committee on Space Research for making my attendance at IRI 2005 possible.
and Technical Institute, his special interests lying in plasma structure in the Earth's magnetosphere.
Lunar Exploration Prizes *Hermanus Magnetic Observatory, Hermanus, South Africa & Dept. of Physics and Electronics, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
hree prizes were awarded by the International Lunar Exploration Working Group at the International Lunar Conference held in Toronto Canada from 18 to 23 September 2005. The prizes were presented during the course of the award banquet at which Peter Diamandis (founder of
T
29