International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI)
Build upon the successes of the International Heliophysical Year 2007 (IHY 2007, http://ihy2007.org/), the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS), at its fifty-second session, agreed to include a new agenda item entitled "International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI)" in the schedule of the agendas of its Technical and Scientific Subcommittee, with specific focus on the effects of space weather on the Earth. Under a three-year work plan (2010, 2011, 2012), ISWI will utilize the ground-based world-wide IHY instrument arrays under deployment since 2005.
IHY 2007 Final Report (ST/SPACE/43) and
Corrigendum (ST/SPACE/43/Corr.1)
What is ISWI?
The International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI) is a programme of international cooperation to advance the space weather science by a combination of instrument deployment, analysis and interpretation of space weather data from the deployed instruments in conjunction with space data, and communicate the results to the public and students. ISWI is a follow-up activity to the successful International Heliophysical Year 2007 (IHY 2007), but focusing exclusively on space weather.
The goal of the ISWI is to develop the scientific insight necessary to understand the science, and to reconstruct and forecast near-Earth space weather. This includes instrumentation, data analysis, modeling, education, training, and public outreach.
Why ISWI?
Space weather in terms of science and technology is important in exploring the solar corona and understanding the functioning of the Sun; understanding the effects that the variability in the Sun can have on the Earth's magnetosphere, environment and climate; exploring the ionized environments of planets; and reaching the limits of the heliosphere and understanding its interaction with interstellar space.
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As society becomes increasingly dependent on space-based systems, it is vital to understand how space weather, caused by solar variability, could affect, among other things, space systems and human space flight, electric power transmission, high-frequency radiocommunications, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signals, as well as the well-being of passengers in high altitude aircraft. Severe magnetic storms resulting from coronal mass ejections are causes of failures of many geostationary orbit communication satellites, radio blackouts and power outages on Earth. The ability to predict space weather accurately could assist in preventing or minimizing impacts of severe magnetic storms on space-based services and systems and on ground power systems. International cooperation in research and development activities in the field of solar-terrestrial physics is important to all nations, in particular developing nations, owing to the high cost of such activities and the increasing involvement of all nations in the use of outer space for peaceful purposes. |
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photo credits: NASA |
ISWI Workshops:
United Nations/National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Workshop on International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI), November 6-10, 2010 Helwan, Egypt
- Website (external link): http://www.spaceweather-eg.org/iswi/index.php
- Workshop Report (A/AC.105/994)
Second United Nations/National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Workshop on International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI), 17 - 21 October 2011, Abuja, Nigeria
- Website (external link): http://www.spaceweather-eg.org/iswi/index.php
- Workshop Report (A/AC.105/1018)
Third United Nations/National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Workshop on International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI) 8 - 12 October 2012, Quito, Ecuador
- Website (external link): http://iswiecuador.epn.edu.ec/
- Information Note
- Programme
- Abstracts
- Online Application Forms
2013: International Living With a Star (ILWS)
ILWS Tenth Anniversary, Symposium and Celebration, 12 - 14 February 2013, Vienna, Austria
- Website (external link): http://ilwsonline.org/tenthanniversary/index.html
Heliophysics
- Website (external link): http://www.vsp.ucar.edu/Heliophysics/index.shtml
2012 ISWI and MAGDAS School on Space Science, 17 - 26 September 2012, Space Science Centre - LAPAN, Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
- Website (external link): http://iswimagdas2012.dirgantara-lapan.or.id/list_course.html
International Centre for Space Weather Science and Education (ICSWSE) of Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
- Presentation made at the 55th Session of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, 6 - 15 June 2012, United Nations Office at Vienna, Vienna International Centre, Vienna, Austria
Space Weather Societal Impacts Workshop, 8 June 2012, Vienna, Austria
- Website (external link):
http://newserver.stil.bas.bg/ISWI/SocImp/SocImpact.html
ISWI Newletters:
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Major elements of ISWI is dissemination of information on the ground-based world-wide instrument arrays through the ISWI Newsletter and through the ISWI Website. The ISWI Newsletter is published by the Space Environment Research Center (SERC) of Kyushu University, Japan. Subscription to the Newsletter is available by sending a blank email to ISWInewsletter-on@mail-list.com. On an exceptional basis, the inaugural issue of the ISWI Newsletter has also been distributed as hard copy. |
ISWI Secretariat:
Website (external link): http://www.iswi-secretariat.org/