This project will operate the Magnetometer Array for Cusp and Cleft Studies (MACCS). These magnetometers provide important infrastructure for studying ionospheric currents at high altitudes where energy is coupled to the ionosphere from the magnetosphere and solar wind. In addition to the continued operation of the MACCS magnetometers, this project will enhance the system by providing for satellite-based communications from the magnetometer sites to the Augsburg College computer system where the preliminary data processing is done. A web site will also be maintained to provide free access to the data to the space physics community. Research topics that will be undertaken include studies of the response of ionospheric convection to changes in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), traveling convection vortices, and a variety of Ultra-Low-Frequency (ULF) wave and pulsation phenomena.
