Abstract
The ESA Virtual Space Weather Modelling Centre (VSWMC )project was
defined as a long term project including different successive parts.
Parts 1 and 2 were completed in the first 4-5 years and designed and
developed a system that enables models and other components to be
installed locally or geographically distributed and to be coupled and
run remotely from the central system. A first, limited version went
operational in May 2019 under the H-ESC umbrella on the ESA SSA SWE
Portal. Part 3 is the next development step before all objectives of the
VSWMC are achieved. The goal of the ESA project “Virtual Space Weather
Modelling Centre - Part 3” (2019-2021) is to further develop the
Virtual Space Weather Modelling Centre, building on the Part 2 prototype
system and focusing on the interaction with the ESA SSA SWE system. The
objective and scope of this new project include, apart from maintaining
the current operational system, the efficient integration of new models
and new model couplings, including daily automated end-to-end (Sun to
Earth) simulations, the further development and wider use of the
coupling toolkit and front-end GUI, making the operational system more
robust and user-friendly. The VSWMC-Part 3 project started on 1 October
2019. The new models that are being integrated are Wind-predict (a
global coronal model from CEA, France), the Coupled
Thermosphere/Ionosphere Plasmasphere (CTIP) model, Multi-VP (another
global coronal model form IRAP/CNRS, France), the BIRA Plasma sphere
Model of electron density and temperatures inside and outside the
plasmasphere coupled with the ionosphere (BPIM, Belgium), the SNRB (also
named SNB3GEO) model for electron fluxes at geostationary orbit
(covering the GOES 15 energy channels >800keV and
>2MeV) and the SNGI geomagnetic indices Kp and Dst models
(University of Sheffield, UK), the SPARX Solar Energetic Particles
transport model (University of Central Lancashire, UK), Spenvis DICTAT
tool for s/c internal charging analysis (BISA, Belgium), the Gorgon
magnetosphere model (ICL, UK), and the Drag Temperature Model (DTM) and
operations-focused whole atmosphere model MCM being developed in the
H2020 project SWAMI. We will provide an overview of the state-of-the-art
and demonstrate the system.