Intelligent Radiospectrography for Space Wether – RIME

The RIME project (Intelligent Radio Spectrography for Space Weather) aims to improve the monitoring of solar phenomena and to develop our capabilities to identify them in real-time in order to minimize their impact on space weather and human activities. Around the world, many efforts are being made for space weather monitoring and forecasting, particularly by exploiting satellite observations. The development of ground monitoring is a complementary avenue, comparatively robust in the face of the solar disturbances that it seeks to detect.

In the “low frequency” radio window (10 MHz to a few GHz), observations of the Sun's eruptive activities allow an early detection, from the first minutes of their appearance, of mass ejections, shock waves and the escape of high-energy particles towards interplanetary space. In the time-frequency plan, these radio emissions reveal the nature of the disturbances and enable an initial assessment of the possible consequences on the Earth's space environment, making it possible to distinguish between harmless activities and potential threats.

Our project consists of developing a robust and easy-to-replicate radiospectrograph concept for space weather, based on 11 years of operation of the ORFEES radiospectrograph in cooperation with the Air Force (FEDOME) at the Nanc¸ay Radio Observatory. The new spectrograph will have a simplified electronic architecture with direct sampling and a lighter, more economical antenna. Its band will be extended up to 1700 MHz to allow observation of strategically sensitive frequencies.

This early warning system will combine two qualities: on the one hand, ease of duplication to allow expanded geographic surveillance in several other points on the globe, thanks to its reduced construction and operating costs, and on the other hand, high-performance observations (wide frequency range, high temporal and frequency resolutions, high dynamics).

Since solar activity is sporadic and unpredictable, it is impossible to make personnel constantly analyze these observations. We will develop algorithmic tools for the automatic identification of solar radio bursts that will allow a monitoring system to issue specific alerts in real time. The same tools will be valuable for cataloging solar bursts and making systematic studies of large amounts of data possible. To minimize storage space, intelligent spectral compression algorithms will be studied.
The project extends over 36 months, involving a consortium (ORN, UORL) of multidisciplinary and complementary research, which will see the design of an intelligent and easily replicable spectrograph (two years of fixed-term contract and equipment required), the development of tools for the detection and automatic identification of solar bursts (funding of a PhD thesis required) including compression technics. All these steps will enable a better management of risks linked to space weather.