Assessing the Performance of EUHFORIA Modeling the Background Solar Wind

Area of Science:

• Space Weather and Heliophysics
• Computational Astrophysics
• Plasma Physics

Background:

• Accurate space weather prediction is crucial.
• EUHFORIA (EUropean Heliospheric FORecasting Information Asset) is a new solar-wind model.
• Initial performance assessment is necessary.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate the performance of the EUHFORIA 1.0.4 model.
• Compare model predictions with Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) in-situ data.
• Identify limitations in the current model setup.

Main Methods:

• Modeled background solar wind using default EUHFORIA parameters.
• Developed a technique to combine daily model runs into continuous time series.
• Analyzed data from low (2008) and high (2012) solar activity periods.
• Qualitatively inspected coronal hole characteristics.

Main Results:

• EUHFORIA showed a better match with ACE data during low solar activity (2008) than high activity (2012).
• Model performance for solar-wind parameters was variable.
• Coronal hole characteristics influence fast solar wind modeling.

Conclusions:

• EUHFORIA shows promise for space weather forecasting, particularly during solar minimum.
• Model accuracy varies and requires further refinement.
• Understanding coronal hole dynamics is key to improving solar-wind predictions.