Project description
The mechanics and changes of our geomagnetic field
Earth’s magnetic field, generated by the movement of liquid metal in the outer core, is essential yet not fully understood. It protects satellites from harmful space weather, ensuring a safe environment. However, our understanding of the mechanics and flow patterns that govern its changes remains limited. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the REFI project aims to answer two key questions: Why has the magnetic dipole’s strength been decreasing over the past centuries? Why is there a growing, anomalously weak section over the South Atlantic? To find answers, the project will develop a paradigm of regionally data-driven models that avoid the noisy data leakages present in global models.
Objective
Earth's magnetic field is a fundamental but poorly understood part of our planet, generated by the chaotic convection of liquid metal in Earth’s outer core. The geomagnetic field acts as a protective shield against harmful space weather for our network of man-made satellites, vital for modern society, making it essential to model the geomagnetic field and the flow that dictates how it will change. There are two key aspects of the field we cannot explain: why the strength of the magnetic dipole has decreased by nearly 6% per century since the 1800s, and why there is a growing anomalously weak patch of the field in the South Atlantic. Both features are of significant concern in terms of future space weather hazard.
These two crucial features of Earth's magnetic field are controlled by regional phenomena inside the core, but they are very difficult to image using the current state of the art global data-driven models of the flow. Because these global models rely on global data, they suffer from the leakage of noisy data near the poles to lower latitudes, and (by design) describe global rather than local features. In this fellowship I propose to create a new paradigm of purely regional data-driven models, REgional core Flow Inversions (REFI), which will resolve local core flow based on only local geomagnetic satellite data. In doing so I will be able to better characterise and understand the local dynamics of the core, leading to a better understanding of the changes in the geomagnetic field and its impact for future space weather hazard. The project is hosted at the University of Leeds in one of the largest and most interdisciplinary deep-Earth research groups in the world, and will be mentored by Prof. Phil W. Livermore.
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Keywords
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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LS2 9JT Leeds
United Kingdom
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