International Programs and Projects
International Programs
SCOSTEP/COURSE
COURSE（Cross-scale cOUpling pRocesses in the Solar-tErrestrial system) is the international scientific program from 2026 operated by the Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP).
iLEAPS
iLEAPS (Integrated Land Ecosystem - Atmosphere Processes Study) aims to enhance the understanding of how interacting biological, chemical and physical processes transport energy and matter through the land – atmosphere interface at all scales from past to future and local to global, with particular emphasis on the human influence on these processes. The land-atmosphere interface is where humans primarily operate. Humans modify the land surface in many ways that influence the fluxes of energy and trace gases between land and atmosphere. Their emissions change the chemical composition of the atmosphere and anthropogenic aerosols change the radiative balance of the globe directly by scattering sunlight back to space and indirectly by changing the properties of clouds. Feedback loops among all these processes, land, the atmosphere, and biogeochemical cycles of nutrients and trace gases extend the human influence even further. iLEAPS focuses on the basic biogeochemical processes that link land-atmosphere exchange, climate, the water cycle and tropospheric chemistry.
International Projects
SuperDARN
SuperDARN (Super Dual Auroral Radar Network) is an international collaboration project by eleven countries in the world. SuperDARN consists of twenty-two sites in the northern hemisphere and twelve sites in the southern hemisphere, covering over the northern and southern high- and mid-latitude regions. The Hokkaido East / West radars, i.e., Hokkaido Pair of (HOP) radars, were constructed by ISEE, Nagoya Univ., and are located at the lowest geomagnetic latitude among the SuperDARN radars.
EISCAT project
The EISCAT Scientific association operate several IS radars in northern
Scandinavia.
As an associate member, Japan run special experiments using the EISCAT
radars.
ISEE group has operated several instruments such as a sodium LIDAR, an MF
radar, optical imagers at the EISCAT Tromsoe site
to study the polar upper atmosphere.
Optical Mesosphere Thermosphere Imagers
The Optical Mesosphere Thermosphere Imagers (OMTIs) are the optical instruments that measures dynamical variation of the upper atmosphere through nocturnal airglow and auroral emissions. OMTIs consist of airglow imagers, Fabry-Perot Interferometers, and airglow temperature photometers, and are installed at many ground-based stations in Canada, Russia, Japan, South-East Asia, Australia, Northern Europe, and Africa.
ISEE Magnetometer Network
ISEE magnetometer network is the ground-based magnetometer network to study storms, substorms, and ELF/ULF waves. This network consists of 64-Hz sampling induction magnetometers and 1-Hz sampling fluxgate magnetometers in Canada, Russia, Japan, and Indonesia.
ISEE VLF/ELF Network
ISEE ELF/VLF network is the ground-based loop-antenna network to study natural ELF/VLF waves from the magnetosphere and from lightening. This network consists of 20-100kHz sampling loop antennas in Canada and Japan.
PWING Project
This project constructs a longitudinal observation network at 8 ground-based stations at subauroral latitudes (magnetic latitudes: ~60 degree) to monitor 2-dimentional images of particle precipitation and ULF/ELF/VLF waves at frequencies of 0.1Hz - 10 kHz. We combine these longitudinal network observations with the ERG satellite, which will be launched in fiscal year 2016, and global modeling. Using these comprehensive observations and modeling, we provide global distribution and quantitative evaluation of the dynamical variation of plasmas and waves in the inner magnetosphere at L~4 Re near the plasmapause.
PBASE Program
The PBASE program aims to significantly contribute to understanding and predicting geospace variabilities by combining ground-based and satellite observations and modeling, covering a wide area in both altitude and latitude/longitude directions. Early-career researchers including newly hired Post-Doctoral Fellows and Ph.D students are participating in this program.