European Geosciences Union
Division on Solar-Terrestrial Sciences
President: Margit Haberreiter (st@egu.eu)
Deputy President: Olga Malandraki (omaland@astro.noa.gr)
The ST Division considers all aspects of solar and heliospheric physics, specifically the solar-terrestrial connection. It covers the physical processes occurring on the Sun, in the solar wind, as well as in Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere. Solar activity (e.g. coronal mass ejections, solar flares, solar energetic particle events) and the response of the near-Earth space environment to these solar phenomena are studied on a wide-range of temporal and spatial scales. Data analysis and interpretation of space-borne and ground-based data, as well as theoretical studies and different modeling techniques are used to better our understanding of how our local star defines the neighborhood that we live in.
The 2018 Hannes Alfvén Medal is awarded to Eckart Marsch for fundamental contributions to our understanding of the kinetic processes and plasma turbulence in the heliosphere, as well as for work that helped HELIOS become a successful mission and initiated the Solar Orbiter.
The 2018 Julius Bartels Medal is awarded to Ilya G. Usoskin for his key contributions to long-term changes of cosmic rays and solar activity, qualifying him as a founder of the space climate discipline.
The 2018 Division Outstanding Early Career Scientists Award is awarded to Natasha L. S. Jeffrey for her outstanding achievements in improving the standard model of fast electrons produced in solar flares, thereby eliminating the long-standing low-energy cut-off uncertainty.
The 2017 Hannes Alfvén Medal is awarded to Eric R. Priest for his fundamental contribution to the understanding of the mathematical complexity and physics of magnetic reconnection and the magnetic coupling of the convection zone with the solar atmosphere.
The 2017 Julius Bartels Medal is awarded to Tuija I. Pulkkinen for her key contributions in solar-terrestrial science, scientific management, academic leadership, and services to the space community.
The 2017 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Awards is awarded to Emma Anderberg Reconstructing the 11-year solar cycle length from cosmogenic radionuclides for the last 600 years
Cosmic rays (CRs), are not actually rays, but highly energetic charged particles of extraterrestrial origin. The life cycle of a cosmic ray particle starts with its birth at some point in the Universe, its travel at nearly the speed of light and finally with its death ( e.g. at a detector). These highly energetic particles strike our planet from all directions and thus provide a constant background. In practice, this means that thousands of cosmic ray particles pass through our …
Social media platforms offer every person with internet access the possibility to share content of various kind. The recent increase in social media use globally give birth to new tools and insights, from a different perspective. The size of, and the global nature of the user driven social media, makes one expect it to include information also about geomagnetic activity related to posts of visual observations of the aurora by the users. Inspired by the ongoing Aurorasaurus initiative, an outreach …
Our closest star, the Sun, is constantly emitting hot gas in all directions as its upper atmosphere, the corona, expands. This is known as the Solar Wind, also carrying with it an embedded magnetic field, the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF). The IMF originates at the Sun and forms an enormous spiral throughout the solar system as the solar wind escapes radially, while the magnetic field-lines are anchored to the rotating Sun. This is the large-scale environment, or the laboratory, for …
In the December issue of Life of a Scientist we have an interview of Dr. Helen Mason. She was working at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge, UK until recently when she retired. Her research interests include UV and X-Ray spectrum of the Sun. She has also devoted a lot of time in promoting science and working with schools from all over the world. Retirement for her means “more time for outreach and …
With the EGU General Assembly just over a week away, we have a number of updates on the meeting, happening in Vienna from 8–13 April. Our conference organiser Copernicus has launched a great mobile app, and we recently announced a number of measures to reduce the environmental impact of the conference, from encouraging people to travel by train to introducing an option for participants to offset their carbon footprint. On the EGU blog, GeoLog, you can find posts about the city of Vienna, and a selection of Union-wide events, short courses and policy activities at the EGU General Assembly. For students taking part in the Outstanding Student Poster and PICO, there are also some tips from the judges on how to prepare a poster or PICO presentation.
This month, we have also announced that we are accepting nominations for EGU awards and medals. We encourage the EGU membership to consider gender, geographical and cultural balance when nominating outstanding Earth, planetary and space scientists at various career stages.
Last but not the least, we have also announced that we are launching two new publications at the 2018 General Assembly: a journal, Geoscience Communication, and a compilation, the Encyclopedia of Geosciences. Find these and many other EGU updates below.