This award is to support an International Chapman Conference on Longitude and Hemispheric Dependence of Space Weather. This conference will bring together an international group of heliophysics scientists to plan and discuss current and needed observations at mid and low latitudes in the African longitude sector, a region that has never been explored in detail using ground-based instruments. Strong interaction between scientists from instrument donors and host institutes is crucial in order to have successful instrument deployment and continuous data retrieval process. The conference will focus on at least six main science topics (1) Hemispherical Dependence of Magnetospheric Energy Injection, (2) Longitude and Hemispheric Dependence of Storm-Enhanced Densities (SED), (3) Response to New Time-History of Solar Flares, (4) Quiet-Time Longitude Spatial Structure, (5) Temporal Response to the Lower-Atmosphere Disturbances, and (6) Climatology of TEC/Scintillation in Different Longitude Sectors. For the United States this conference will provide great opportunity for young scientists and graduate students to meet international expertise and earn international experience for their future international collaboration. In Africa, this conference will create opportunities for undergraduate students to enhance their inspiration to space science and perform research activities in the future within their own countries.
The AGU Chapman conference on longitudinal and hemispheric dependence of space weather, which was the first space weather Chapman conference in the African continent, has been held successfully in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during 12-16 November 2012. The conference, which was organized primarily by Colorado University and Boston College (in collaboration with Addis Ababa University, Bahir Dar University, and Ethiopian Space Science Society), become possible through three committees; the conveners, the International Programme Committee, and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC). The conference has been well attended by excess of 110 participants, represented from more than 27 nations. Of these delegates about 45% represented from more than 12 different African countries, about 35% were from USA and Canada, and the remaining 20% were from other countries that include Europe, Asia, South America and Australia. Because of the generosity of the sponsors, about 74 African delegates and 15 delegates from outside African were sponsored either partially or in full. The conference has been organized for two prime objectives: (1) to assemble an international group of heliophysics scientists to plan and discuss current and needed observations at mid and low latitudes in the African longitude sector, a region that has never been explored in detail using ground-based instruments, and (2) to enhance the space science education and research interest in the Africa continent. In addition to the Infrastructure development and panel discussion sessions, the scientific programme of the conference included six main science themes: (1) Hemispherical Dependence of Magnetospheric Energy Injection and the Thermosphere-Ionosphere Response, (2) Longitude and Hemispheric Dependence of Storm-Enhanced Densities (SED), (3) Response of the Thermosphere and Ionosphere to X-Ray and EUV Time-History During Flares, (4) Quiet-Time Longitude Spatial Structure in Total Electron Content and Electrodynamics, (5) Temporal Response to Lower-Atmosphere Disturbances, and (6) Ionospheric Irregularities and Scintillations. Very compelling and high standard oral and poster papers, for each scientific theme, were presented at the conference. For all six science sessions as well as for infrastructure developments session there were about 65 oral presentations, with the main focus on observation and modeling efforts of understanding the unique space weather events in the African region. It is worth to mention that about 34% of the total oral presentations made at the conference were presentations by African scientists. This indicates how high standard science contribution from African scientists significantly increased compared to the previous meetings. In addition, the conference had one poster sessions as well as one panel discussion on Infrastructure and Capacity Building. The poster sessions, which included about 40 poster presentations, were divided according to the main science sessions mentioned above. The panel discussion, which includes seven panelist (F. Anad (Algeria), L. McKinnell (South Africa), C. Amory-Mazaudier (France), J. Adeniyi (Nigeria), S. Tessema (Ethiopia), S. Radicella (Italy), and K. Groves (USA)) and chaired by T. Fuller-Rowell and Su. Basu, was designed to find a way forward to address the most important question not only for African scientist but also for the international scientific communities in general, i.e., what type of observations and activities are needed in the region to address the outstanding science questions, such as why African sector ionospheric irregularities are so unique and active all year round compared to other longitudinal sectors? Finally, on Friday morning, following the panel discussion, the conference concluded by formally establishing the African Geophysical Society (AGS) that was officially inaugurated at the closing ceremony of Chapman Conference. This will be remembered as another mile stone contribution of AGU’s Chapman conference in Addis Ababa, which served as a vehicle that brought the African scientist into one roof and provide them the opportunity to have a final discussion and officially announced for the birth date of AGS.
