Advances in the Modelling of Meso-scale Phenomena in the Coupled Magnetosphere-Ionosphere System

Meso-scale structures, that have spatial scales between 100 to 500 km and temporal scales between 2 to 15 minutes, occur frequently during heightened levels of geomagnetic activity. These structures are responsible for significant energy dissipation from the Magnetosphere to the Ionosphere and can result in damage to critical technology. Our capabilities to predict the occurrence of meso-scale structures are lacking as the operational models traditionally use empirical relations to define the magnetospheric drivers. Optimized to provide a timely global solution, the operational models also employ coarser grid resolutions that are insufficient to resolve meso-scales. Ever-increasing computational resources enable more realistic numerical simulations of the geospace environment, while various missions and experiments have been generating data that motivate new assimilation and machine learning techniques. This presentation will introduce the predictive models for ionospheric convection and aurora classification, as well as techniques to incorporate incoherent scatter radar measurements as drivers for general circulation models with the aim of providing further insight into the meso-scale coupling of the Magnetosphere-Ionosphere systems.