MAPS
MAPS is the Magnetospheric Alert and Prediction System, an automated system delivering realtime Dst data products to the space weather community. It is being developed by Space Environment Technologies, U.S. Geological Survey, Space Environment Corporation, Carmel Research Center, Instrumental Software Technologies Inc., and the Community Coordinated Modeling Center under an Air Force Research Laboratory SBIR contract.
Objectives
Neutral atmosphere heating, whether from solar EUV, geomagnetic storms, or atmosphere dynamics (winds, waves, turbulence, eddies) is the main cause of density variations in the thermosphere between 100 and 1500 km altitude. For LEO satellites, these density changes can cause significant in-track errors within a single orbit. Because the Dst is an indicator of space weather disturbances by the solar wind upon the coupled magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere system, there is a strong interest for having an operational index based on ground magnetometers located near the equator and/or from LEO satellites such as DMSP or potentially Iridium. We have created a U.S.-based real-time Dst index using ground-based magnetometers. It will be made publicly available in real-time through the USGS.