From the Sun’s atmosphere to the Earth’s atmosphere: an overview of scientific models available for space weather developments

Abstract

Space weather aims at setting operational numerical tools in order to nowcast, forecast and quantify the solar activity events, the magnetosphere, ionosphere and thermosphere responses and the consequences on our technological societies. These tools can be divided in two parts. The first has a geophysical base (Sun, interplanetary medium, magnetosphere, atmosphere). The second concerns technological applications (telecommunications, spacecraft orbits, power plants ...). In this paper, we aim at giving an overview of the models that belong to the first class (geophysics) that might serve in the future as a basis for building global operational codes. For each model, we consider the physics underneath, the input and output parameters, and whether it is already operational, whether it may become operational in the near future, or if it is an academic research tool. Relevant references are given in order to serve as a starting point for further readings.Key words. Interplanetary physics (general or miscellaneous), Ionosphere (modelling and forecasting), Magnetospheric physics (general or miscellaneous)