SEC's Operational Space Weather Products and Models

J. M. Kunches
NOAA Space Environment Center, Boulder, CO

Space weather products and services cover a vast expanse.  Spanning the environment from the Sun to the ionosphere, 
a broad offering of both graphical and text-based products and models is made available to the public.  To be 
deemed "operational" means the products and models are tested, verified, calibrated, and validated, and the 
necessary computer and communication systems are maintained 24 hours-per-day.  In addition to the alerts, warnings, 
and watches SEC is chartered to provide, model-based graphical products are now available on the web.  Three such 
examples are:  the auroral map extrapolated from the NOAA/POES particle data; D-region absorption plot driven by 
real-time GOES soft x-rays; and the Kp-driven Magnetospheric Specification Model.  The forecasters also use space 
weather models as an aid in their daily predictions.  The Costello Geomagnetic Activity Index, run with real-time 
solar wind plasma and IMF; the Wang-Sheeley model, used for background solar wind speed and IMF; and two different 
proton prediction models, illustrate the breadth of the resources available to operational forecasters.  In the 
future, additional models using data from IMAGE and GOES/SXI will further define the types of new products SEC will 
produce.  As user needs evolve, and new ventures in space physics are launched, SEC will strive to add additional 
operational products and models to its offerings that are important to the user community.

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Presented at the Fall American Geophysical Union Meeting, 
San Francisco, CA., December 15-19, 2000