Space weather

Space weather is the phrase used to describe changes in the near-Earth space environment that are caused predominantly by solar activity. These forms of solar activity include solar flares and coronal mass ejections; both of which are heavily studied by the global solar physics community and by scientists at MSSL. During times of stormy space weather, there can be a knock-on effect on many of the technologies that modern society relies on. And so for many years solar physics research has been applied to help develop our understanding of the physical processes that cause space weather and to predict what the conditions will be like in the hours and days ahead. Lucie is involved in a range of projects that involve studying the science of space weather and investigating what instrumentation could be used to improve space weather forecasts.

Lucie’s primary research area looks at coronal mass ejections. For more information and an overview of the role of coronal mass ejections in driving space weather see the publication “Coronal mass ejections: a driver of severe space weather”.

Collaborative projects that Lucie has led have involved working with different sectors to understand how to build space weather weather into business continuity and resiliency planning. These collaborations have led to the following reports:

More general reading on space weather impact and mission planning can be found here: