Research project IM/RT/23/SUNRISE (Research action IM)
Context:
Observing the Sun and collecting solar observations for the benefit of research, space weather operations and data services are part of the mission of the Solar Physics and Space Weather department at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, known as SIDC (Solar Influences Data Analysis Center). SIDC is responsible for several ground- and space-based solar instruments and manages data collections related to space weather forecasting and operations. It hosts the World Data Center for Sunspot Index and Long-term Solar Observations (WDC-SILSO), as well as a Regional Warning Centre (RWC) which provides near real-time space weather warnings and forecasting services to various agencies, such as ESA or the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Up till now, data services for disseminating these various data collections have been established based on individual projects. Consequently, homogeneity amongst the data services is often missing, and related expertise is not shared among various sub-teams of the department.
Objective:
The goal of SUNRISE is to work towards a common data service infrastructure that serves both the SIDC internally and external users. As a start, we consider two data services related to the monitoring of the Sun which are currently independent and at different stages of development. Within SUNRISE, our aim is to bring these two data services within a common platform, building upon the existing SIDC Event Database (EventDB), which already collects datasets in support of space weather operations.
The first data service concerns the long-term monitoring of the Sun by the WDC-SILSO. The SILSO pipeline will be automated to be more easily linked to the common platform. At the same time new services will be implemented, such as the monitoring of the stations that provide sunspot counts, and the production of the Group Sunspot Number.
The second data service is related to the short-term monitoring of the Sun and improvement of space weather forecasting capabilities. We aim to develop a comprehensive data model for describing the complex chain of solar eruptive events occurring on the Sun and traveling towards the Earth. In accordance with this new data model, event chain catalogs produced by recent validation and research projects will be used to populate the enriched EventDB. The new platform will ensure in the future that the entire Space Weather forecast workflow may be stored within the EventDB and made easily accessible.
Such structural storage of the operationally produced information will allow to perform research on these generated data right away and will create a feedback loop between research and operations. This will help bridge the gap between science and operations.
Methodology SUNRISE will bring together expertise about databases, IT services, data management, as well as research content on data models, computation of International Sunspot Number, linking of different solar events, etc. This collaborative approach will enable progress in the two data services related to the monitoring of the Sun, as well as in the deployment of a common data service platform.
Impact
A common data service infrastructure for all SIDC data services will improve the efficiency of current services, facilitate the addition of future services, and provide at competitive cost visibility and FAIR access to all SIDC data. The automation of the WDC-SILSO production will ensure lower maintenance costs, thus improving its sustainability. The enriched EventDB will help to disseminate the knowledge of the sequence of physical processes at work in Sun-to-Earth event chains. In the common platform, lesser known or newer data products will become visible alongside the products with an established reputation, thereby enhancing in practice the visibility of all SIDC data products..
