Images from the Otago Space Physics Group, at Home and Overseas (2018-2019). Current images are also available.
| Annika and Emily at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco in December 2019 with an awesome, interactive, science on a sphere globe. The AGU meeting is the largest international geoscience meeting in the world with approximately 30,000 people attending from all over the world. At the meeting Emily presented a poster on her Otago MSc work, which was recently submitted to the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. Annika gave a talk on the mechanisms coupling solar influence on atmospheric ozone to regional climate [12 December 2019]. |  |
| Otago Space Physics MSc student Emily Gordon standing in front of the Christmas tree in the middle of Union Square, San Francisco. Emily and Annika travelled to San Francisco to attend the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting (9-13 December 2019) – the largest geosciences meeting in the world [7 December 2019]! |  |
| Craig in the grounds of the Observatoire royal de Belgique, the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB). The ROB hosted the 3rd Session of the World Meteorological Organisations Inter-Programme Team on Space Weather Information, Systems and Services (IPT-SWeISS-3). In the week beforehand Craig was at the 16th European Space Weather Week in Liege [26 November 2019]. |  |
| Space Physics Antarctic Expedition 12 in 2019 saw MSc student Emily Gordon and Dr James Brundell go south to look after our two antenna near Scott Base – and also go hunting for some problematic radio interference which is affecting our measurements in the “radio quiet zone”. This shows Emily (left) and James (right) standing in front of our AARDDVARK VLF antenna at Arrival Heights. Their work took part with the support of Antarctica New Zealand (and funding from the University of Otago) through Event K060 [18 November 2019]. |  |
| Craig in front of the Mont des Arts overlooking the city of Brussels, Belgium. Craig returned to Brussels to attend the 16th European Space Weather Week which was in Liege in mid-November. He then attended the 3rd Session of the World Meteorological Organisations Inter-Programme Team on Space Weather Information, Systems and Services (IPT-SWeISS-3). The Mont des Arts is said to over one of Brussels finest views – Daniel and Craig found it while wandering around the first morning [17 November 2019]. |  |
| Annika attended the SCOSTEP VarSITI (Variability of the Sun and Its Terrestrial Impact) program summarising workshop 11-15 Nov 2019 in Japan. The workshop took place at the Center for International Collaborative Research (CICR), Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research (ISEE), Nagoya University, Japan [13 November 2019]. |  |
| Space Physics Antarctic Expedition 12 on the plane, ready to depart. Just before 9am on 13 November 2019 we received this image. This picture shows Emily Gordon and Dr James Brundell on a USAF C17 in Christchurch airport shortly before takeoff to travel south. Emily and James will gather high-resolution data and look at local radio noise interference from our Scott Base AARDDVARK receiver. |  |
| In October 2019 Mark Clilverd (British Antarctic Survey) returned to Dunedin. Mark’s primary goal of coming to New Zealand was to work on multiple Space Weather scientific papers. During the visit, we visited the Orokonui Ecosanctuary. This image shows Mark in front of two Takahē – a blue and green heavy flightless bird with a strong red beak. There are only ~350 Takahē in New Zealand, with this breeding pair based at Orokonui [12 October 2019]. |  |
| After speaking at the Auckland Antarctic Science Meetup, Craig travelled to the UK to visit the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge. They were hosting the annual meeting of the Space Weather Impact on Ground-based Systems (SWIGS) project. Craig was funded by the SWIGS team to join the meeting as one of their international collaborators. He stayed on in Cambridge to work with his collaborators at the British Antarctic Survey, working on solar flare and geomagnetic storm space weather research [6 September 2019]. |  |
| Craig speaking during a public talk in Auckland. On the way overseas Craig stopped over and spoke to more than 100 people at Auckland University. His presentation was part of the Auckland Antarctic Science Meetup. Craig spoke on the science of aurora and historic auroral observations. The second part of the presentation was a live link with Scott Base given by Jonny Harrison, the Winter Leader at Scott Base. Jonny shared the story behind many of his beautiful pictures. The talk was on Thursday 29 August 2019. |  |
| The Otago Space Physics Group updated our team picture on 23 August 2019. Shown in the photo from left to right: Annika Seppälä, Emily Gordon, Neil Thomson, and Tim Divett, Jono Squire, Daniel Mac Manus, James Brundell and Craig Rodger.North Dunedin is visible in the background. |  |
| In August 2019 Space Physics MSc student Emily Gordon travelled to Boulder Colorado to attend the 2019 CESM tutorial (5-9 August 2019). Emily learnt how to run the CESM model, with lectures on the model components in the morning, and practicals in the afternoon. This image shows Emily sitting on a bench at NCAR Mesa Laboratory, overlooking South Boulder. It was hot and she didn’t get bitten by a rattle snake [6 August 2019]. |  |
| The Otago Space Physics group (and friends) at the 27th International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) General Assembly, held in Montreal, Canada. From left to right: Mark Clilverd (British Antarctic survey-long term collaborator), Craig Rodger, Aaron Hendry (Otago PhD- now in Prague), Tim Divett, and Annika Seppälä [17 July 2019]. |  |
| In July 2019, Craig travelled to Quebec for 2 weeks. This was a full on period of meetings and workshops in Canada. The first event had Craig present an invited talk at Space Climate 7 in Canton Orford, ~1.5 hours drive from Montreal city. Then Craig joined the UN COPUOS Space Weather Expert Group Meeting at the Canadian Space Agency to talk about Geomagnetically Induced Currents in New Zealand. Finally, Craig joined a few thousand geophysicists at the IUGG 2019 conference in Montreal. This image shows Craig standing by the St Lawrence River [12 July 2019]. |  |
| Craig Rodger, Space Physics MSc student Emily Gordon, and Annika Seppälä, standing in front of their posters at the 2019 New Zealand Antarctic Science Conference. This conference took place in Christchurch from 17-20 June 2019 [19 June 2019]. |  |
| Space Physics PhD student Daniel Mac Manus and Craig standing in front of a transformer at Haywards substation in Lower Hutt. Craig and Daniel travelled to Wellington to talk to Transpower New Zealand Ltd. We spoke with the Transpower staff about the hazard posed by extreme geomagnetic storms to the New Zealand power grid [19 May 2019]. | 19May19_CJR_Daniel_ |
| In April 2019 Craig and Annika travelled to Helsinki to join the CHAMOS EPP meeting hosted by the Finnish Meteorological Institute. This included Aaron Hendry, who joined us from the at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Prague. Aaron did his PhD at Otago, and is now a PostDoc in Czech. Also part of the workshop was Harriet George, who is now undertaking a PhD at the University of Helsinki after completing an Honours Physics degree at Otago [25 April 2019]. |  |
| Mark Clilverd (British Antarctic Survey) returned to Dunedin in early March 2019 to work with us – one of the main goals of this years travel was working on a solar flare study. During his visit we headed south to the Catlin’s. This image shows Mark by the Catlin’s River at Newhaven, at the start of the walk to Surat Bay [9 March 2019]. |  |
| In early January 2019 former Space Physics Honours student Harriet George left Dunedin and travelled to Finland to take up a PhD position. Harriet is working in the Space Physics group of Helsinki University. This image shows Harriet in Helsinki Senate Square, with Helsinki Cathedral in the background. Harriet arrived in Finland in the middle of winter! [January 2019]. |  |
| Back in Dunedin, robes on, walking down the middle of main street. In mid-December Space Physics doctoral researcher Dr. Aaron Hendry returned to Otago University from his PostDoc in Prague. During the visit Aaron joined the December Science graduation ceremony. This image shows Aaron and Craig walking down George Street as part of the graduation parade. In the same ceremony Daniel Mac Manus and Harriet George also graduated. It was a great day for Space Physics! [15 December 2018] |  |
| James Brundell in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. James was visiting Washington DC to attend the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting [9 Dec 2018]. |  |
| In late November 2018 Craig travelled to Edinburgh. His main aim was to talk with the experts at the British Geological Survey about Space Weather and Geomagnetically Induced Currents affecting energy infrastructure. Craig had a significant proposal to write, and wanted their advice. This image was taken during a short lunch time walk. That day it had stopped raining, and Edinburgh Castle was looking particularly magnificent [6 December 2018]. |  |
| Myles Thayer (left) and James Brundell standing by the Otago Space Physics AARDDVARK VLF radio antenna at Arrival Heights, Ross Island, Antarctica. Our antenna has operated continuously since 2008 and is located in the Arrival Heights Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA). This is a radio “quiet zone” close to McMurdo Station and Scott Base. Both stations operate science programs here in the ASPA. The white lab building is run by USAP and the Antarctica NZ laboratory sports the usual Scott base green paint scheme. The actual colour is known as “Chelsea cucumber” (Resene paint 6-071). Myles and James were in Antarctica for Otago Space Physics Antarctic Expedition 11 [17 November 2018]. |  |
| On the morning of Monday 12 November 2018, Space Physics Antarctic Expedition 11 flew south to Scott Base. This picture shows Myles Thayer and Dr James Brundell shortly before takeoff on a USAF C-17 transport. Myles and James will gather high-resolution data and undertake maintenance on our experiments on the ice. |  |
| A very small Craig Rodger stands in front of the magnificent town hall building of Leuven, Belgium. The original building dates to 1448, although the statues were added onto the exterior from 1850. Craig was in Europe to attend the 15th European Space Weather Week which occurred in Leuven. Before the meeting he spent a couple of days in Sheffield, and gave a seminar at the Automatic Control and Systems Engineering Department of Sheffield University. [Image from 7 November 2018] |  |
| In November 2018 Dr. Tim Divett travelled to Belgium to attend the 15th European Space Weather Week (ESWW15). Before the meeting Tim biked through the countryside around Leuven to work off his jetlag. This photo was taken outside Kasteel van Horst on 3 November 2018 |  |
| On Friday 12 October the American-New Zealand company Rocket Lab opened their new rocket development and production facility in Auckland. The day beforehand Craig went to Auckland with TVNZ – he was lucky enough to be toured around the facility by Rocket Lab Chief Executive Peter Beck. What a day for a Space Physicist! [11 October 2018]. On Friday TVNZ’s Seven Sharp show broadcast parts of the tour. |  |
| Scott Brown, the US Ambassador to New Zealand visited Dunedin in mid-October, and came to the Physics Department. Craig and Scott had a talk about space, and the exciting developments occurring in this field involving New Zealand and the USA. He was kind enough to pose some photos in Craig’s office before moving on to one of our quantum research laboratories [10 October 2018]. |  |
| In October 2018 the Otago Space Physics group hosted this years Intrenational CHAMOS workshop (CHAMOS stands for Chemical Aeronomy in the Mesosphere and Ozone in the Stratosphere). The team covered four countries. Present from left to right: Ji-Hee Lee (Korea Polar Research Institute), Jia Jia (Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory), Maxime Grandin (Univ. Helsinki), Annika Seppälä (Univ. Otago), Emily Gordon (Univ. Otago), Harriet George (Univ. Otago), Craig Rodger (Univ. Otago), Mark Clilverd (British Antarctic Survey), Emma Douma (Univ. Otago), Antti Kero (Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory), and Esa Turunen (Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory). The image was taken outside the Otago Physics Department, with the registry clocktower building in the background on 9 October 2018. |  |
| Annika travelled to the SPARC 2018 General Assembly which took place in early October in Kyoto, Japan. Here she is up at the Kiyomizu-dera temple with Kyoto skyline and some nice cirrocumulus clouds in the background. SPARC (Stratosphere-Troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate) is a core project of the World Climate Research Programme. |  |
| Ellen Clarke (British Geological Survey) travelled from Edinburgh in late September 2018, coming to Dunedin for the second time. Ellen’s visit was part of our Space Weather research project, funded by MBIE to investigate the hazard from space to New Zealand’s electrical transmission grid. This trip allowed Ellen to be part of our MBIE project close down meeting at the end of September 2018, and also to give a colloquia in the Otago Physics Department. During her time in Dunedin we headed south to the Catlins. As part of our exploration, we stopped at the Florence Hill lookout looking over Tautuku Bay – a classic photo spot! [30 September 2018]. |  |
| Mark Clilverd (British Antarctic Survey) came to New Zealand again in late 2018. This second visit, in September-October 2018, allowed Mark to attend the close down of the Otago lead MBIE research programme (“Solar Tsunami’s”) and the CHAMOS workshop. We also used the time together to move forward various collaborative scientific projects. In the first weekend we drove south on the Sunday to visit the Catlins. Here Mark is seen in front of the Purakaunui waterfall. There had been strong rainfall overnight, so the waterfall was very active [30 September 2018]. |  |
| Close down meeting for our MBIE funded project “Solar Tusnami’s”, investigating the hazard posed by Space Weather to the New Zealand Electrical network. The meeting was hosted by the Otago Space Physics group in Dunedin. In the image, from left to right: Mark Clilverd (British Antarctic Survey), Neil Thomson (OtagoU), Wiebke Heise (GNS Science), Craig Rodger (OtagoU), Daniel Mac Manus (OtagoU), Malcolm Ingham (VUW), Kamran Mukhtar (VUW), Alan Thomson (British Geological Survey), Tim Divett (OtagoU), Ted Bertrand (GNS Science), Ellen Clarke (British Geological Survey), Tanja Peterson (GNS Science), Mike Dalzell (Transpower), James Brundell (OtagoU) [28 September 2018]. |  |
| We tried again to update the Otago Space Physics Group team picture on 4 September 2018. Shown in the photo from left to right: Neil Thomson, Emily Gordon, Craig Rodger, Daniel Mac Manus, Harriet George, Tim Divett. and Annika Seppälä. Missing: Emma Douma and James Brundell. |  |
| PhD candidate and Space Physics student Emma Douma submitting her PhD thesis at the Graduate Research School in the University of Otago clocktower building. Her PhD thesis is entitled “Relativistic Electron Microbursts: Properties and Possible Plasma Wave Drivers” and is now being examined [24 August 2018]. |  |
| Gemma Richardson (British Geological Survey) standing on the edge of the University of Otago campus. She came to Dunedin to work with the Space Physics group on Geomagnetically Induced Currents in electrical networks. While visiting us in winter, some days are nice, and here Gemma is enjoying an ice cream [July 2018]. |  |
| Emma Douma and Craig Rodger outside the Pasadena Convention Centre. Craig and Emma travelled to the USA to attend the COSPAR2018 conference – on the 60th anniversary of the formation of COSPAR, the launch of Sputnik-1, and the discovery of the radiation belts [20 July 2018]. |  |
| Craig Rodger on the lakeside in Toronto with the CN Tower in then background. Craig was visiting Toronto to attend the SCOSTEP 14th Quadrennial Solar-Terrestrial Physics Symposium (STP14) at York University [7 July 2018]. |  |
| The Otago Space Physics Group tried to update our team picture on 6 July 2018. Shown in the photo from left to right: Craig Rodger, Annika Seppälä, Emma Douma, Harriet George, Emily Gordon, and James Brundell. Missing: Daniel Mac Manus, Neil Thomson, and Tim Divett. |  |
| Annika visited Hawaii to attend the 15th Annual Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS) meeting where she gave a talk on microburst impact on atmospheric chemistry. The conference venue was near the famous Waikiki surfing beach, some of which is seen in the background [image from 10 June 2018]. |  |
| PhD student Emma Douma cruising up the leeward coast of Oahu, Hawaii, to a snorkeling spot with green sea turtles. Emma was visiting Hawaii to attend the 15th annual Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS) meeting, where she presented an oral and a poster on her PhD research. The meeting was held in Honolulu from 3-8 June 2018 [image from 2 June 2018]. |  |
| Ellen Clarke, Tim Divett, Gemma Richardson, Alan Thomson and Ciaran Beggan outside the British Geological Survey‘s office in the Lyell Centre, Edinburgh during Tim’s visit to work on modelling geomagnetically induced currents in New Zealand’s power network. Tim spent two weeks working in Edinburgh with the BGS Space Weather research team [22 May 2018]. |  |
| New Zealand Geomagnetically Induced Current researchers meet at the HVDC station at the Benmore Hydroelectric Power Station. From left to right: Mike Dalzell (Transpower New Zealand Team Leader – HVDC & Power Electronics Engineering), Tim Divett (University of Otago PostDoc), and Daniel Mac Manus (University of Otago MSc student). The team is standing in front of the AC to DC transformer for Pole 3 of the HVDC Inter-island link. The visit took place during a planned tour of the Benmore dam on 19 April 2018. |  |
| The second Cambridge Energetic Electron Precipitation (EEP) meeting of the CHAMOS research collaboration gathered at the British Antarctic Survey in April 2018. We discussed improvements to our electron precipitation representations for input into climate models. The skidoo, and the inflatable penguin, are located in the BAS foyer. Shown are, from left to right: Max van de Kamp, Mark Clilverd, Annika Seppälä, Niilo Kalakoski, Pekka Verronen, penguin, and Craig Rodger [11 April 2018]. |  |
| Craig Rodger takes a selfie at the Belém Tower, at the mouth of the Tagus River which leads to Lisbon. Craig was visiting the city after the AGU Chapman Conference on Particle Dynamics in the Earth’s Radiation Belts. That meeting was held just outside the town of Cascais [10 March 2018]. |  |
| It has become traditional for Space Physics Antarctic Expeditions to get a photo of themselves beside our antenna at Arrival Heights. This season we sent our 10th team down to Scott Base to work on our experimental equipment. Shown here is Space Physics PostDoc Tim Divett (left) and James Brundell (right) who was leading the team who went South. This was James’ 9th visit to Antarctica, and Tim’s first! [February 2018] |  |
| Space Physics Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. James Brundell mountain biking on the track to Castle Rock, Ross Island, Antarctica. With the temperature at around -16 C plus wind chill on top of that, face & hands all needed to be well covered up! [7 Feb 2018] |  |
| Space Physics Antarctic Expedition 10 travelled to Antarctica in early-mid February 2018. On the day before they flew home, Space Physics PostDoc Dr. Tim Divett was able to go cross country skiing on the Ross Ice Shelf, near Scott Base [10 February 2018]. |  |
| In January-February 2018 Mark Clilverd (British Antarctic Survey) returned to the Otago Space Physics Group. Mark was in Dunedin for about 2 weeks, focused on multiple projects. We also went to Wellington to visit Transpower New Zealand Ltd. to talk about our Geomagnetically Induced Current research. In the weekend, we visit the Sinclair Wetlands just south of Dunedin, where this picture was taken [4 February 2018]. |  |
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