The aim of this study will be to derive large-scale, fully 3- dimensional descriptions of both the magnetic field and the distribution of plasma in the lower corona. The model is to be constrained by coronameter measurements of white light that has been scattered by coronal electrons. To model the large scale structure, which does not change substantially over a solar rotation, a magnetospheric model (Bogdan and Low, 1986) which describes both the coronal magnetic field and density distribution in terms of a set of multipole coefficients and other parameters, will be employed. The underlying assumptions of the model will be tested, and standard inversion techniques will be adopted to solve for model parameters which best fit the data set. The ultimate goal is to find a quantitative description for changes in the solar corona over time scales such as the solar cycle. The work will be developed with emphasis on (a) further development of the inversion technique, (b) comparison with measurements of the photospheric magnetic field, (c) extending the inversion to a larger data set.
