This is a 2-year postgraduate research fellowship project which aims to provide improved understanding of how the slow and fast solar wind heating and acceleration occurs in response to the strength of the solar cycle. The research work will be conducted at the highly collaborative environment of the Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Science Department at the University of Michigan. The PI will incorporate the research results into the undergraduate and graduate level courses in the University of Michigan. The PI is a recent PhD graduate and this research project will support the continued training and career advancement of an early-career female scientist in the Atmospheric and Geospace sciences. Therefore, the project will enhance the participation of women in sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
This 2-year research project will uniquely combine the analysis of in-situ measurement of solar wind properties and of spectroscopic observations of solar wind source regions, taking advantage of the strengths of both types of observations and different analysis techniques. The empirical models to be derived from the matching of in-situ measurements and remote sensing observations will be unprecedented in their detail, and they will continuously cover the entire distance from the solar wind source region to the freeze-in height. These empirical models will provide a benchmark that will allow discrimination between competing solar wind heating and acceleration models and scenarios and will greatly advance our understanding of the solar wind phenomenon and its dependence on solar cycle phase and strength. Moreover, by using two different types of techniques and data, this research work will serve as a link between two Space Sciences communities, and the outcome of this project will benefit both sides.
