Working Meeting - Harmonisation of SEP Data Calibrations (HSDC)

Piers Jiggens (European Space Research And Technology Centre); Daniel Heynderickx (DH Consultancy); Juan Rodriguez (NOAA)
Friday 18th, 15:00 - 16:30, Delvaux

Comparisons and cross-calibration of in-situ particle radiation data are of critical importance for improving the accuracy of specifications of the space environment, space weather predictions and are useful for scientific studies. For scientists working on these topics the issues pertaining to data processing are often not the subject of their work but the usefulness of harmonised data sets in removing data caveats as a source of error is great. The focus of this group is on Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) which includes protons, electrons and heavier ions.

This area of research bridges the gap between instrument developers, who often possess essential information on the behaviour of instruments, and radiation environment specialists, who understand the sensitivity of models to instrument response. The ultimate aim of the working group is to construct reference data sets for use by the scientific and space weather communities which the two sets of experts can agree have been processed in a sensible and consistent manner. Due to the saturation of scientific instruments during periods of high flux and the uncertainty on response of monitoring instruments, cross-calibration is a cornerstone of such research. Other topics of interest include the subtraction of background, identification of caveats in particle radiation data sets and temporal and spatial boundaries for conjunctions to compare fluxes.

This will be the fifth formal meeting of the Harmonisation of SEP Data Calibrations (HSDC) working group. The focus of this meeting will be for attendees to briefly present (in 2-5 minutes) comparisons of data and their conclusions with significant time for discussions of key problem areas and possible solutions.