Advances in Coordinated Sun-Earth System Science Through Interdisciplinary Initiatives and International Programs

Abstract

Recent observational advances have allowed us to study the changing Sun with unprecedented detail. Many dominant research topics have become broader as we seek to connect changes at the Sun and of the Heliosphere to changes in the Earth’s magnetosphere and atmosphere through a deeper understanding of the physics obtained from interdisciplinary approaches to problems. The challenge of conducting interdisciplinary research in a plasma system as large and complex as the one between the Sun and Earth within the heliosphere, which is itself embedded in the interstellar medium, demands long-term, carefully coordinated international cooperation. In response to this need, the “Climate and Weather of the Sun-Earth System” (CAWSES) and “International Living With a Star” (ILWS) programs were created. Complementary in their nature and goals, the two programs combine resources from the national and international communities to both advance the state of our knowledge and coordinate and plan Sun-Earth System research missions of the present and future. Part of the corresponding research that is related to space weather and space climate, including external forcing of the terrestrial climate and the atmospheric response, and that is put into an overarching context in the present paper is highlighted in the articles of this section.