The Space Physics Environment Data Analysis System (SPEDAS)

V Angelopoulos¹, P Cruce¹, A Drozdov¹, E W Grimes¹, N Hatzigeorgiu², D A King², D Larson², J W Lewis², J M McTiernan², D A Roberts³, C L Russell¹, T Hori⁴, Y Kasahara⁵, A Kumamoto⁶, A Matsuoka⁷, Y Miyashita⁸, Y Miyoshi⁴, I Shinohara⁷, M Teramoto⁴, J B Faden⁹, A J Halford¹⁰, M McCarthy¹¹, R M Millan¹², J G Sample¹³, D M Smith¹⁴, L A Woodger¹², A Masson¹⁵, A A Narock¹⁶, K Asamura⁷, T F Chang⁴, C-Y Chiang¹⁷, Y Kazama¹⁸, K Keika¹⁹, S Matsuda⁴, T Segawa⁴, K Seki¹⁹, M Shoji⁴, S W Y Tam¹⁷, N Umemura⁴, B-J Wang^{18

20}, S-Y Wang¹⁸, R Redmon²¹, J V Rodriguez^{21

22}, H J Singer²³, J Vandegriff²⁴, S Abe²⁵, M Nose^{26

4}, A Shinbori⁴, Y-M Tanaka²⁷, S UeNo²⁸, L Andersson²⁹, P Dunn², C Fowler²⁹, J S Halekas³⁰, T Hara², Y Harada³¹, C O Lee², R Lillis², D L Mitchell², M R Argall³², K Bromund³, J L Burch³³, I J Cohen²⁴, M Galloy³⁴, B Giles³, A N Jaynes³⁰, O Le Contel³⁵, M Oka², T D Phan², B M Walsh³⁶, J Westlake²⁴, F D Wilder²⁹, S D Bale², R Livi², M Pulupa², P Whittlesey², A DeWolfe²⁹, B Harter²⁹, E Lucas²⁹, U Auster³⁷, J W Bonnell², C M Cully³⁸, E Donovan³⁸, R E Ergun²⁹, H U Frey², B Jackel³⁸, A Keiling², H Korth²⁴, J P McFadden², Y Nishimura³⁹, F Plaschke⁴⁰, P Robert³⁵, D L Turner⁴¹, J M Weygand¹, R M Candey³, R C Johnson¹⁶, T Kovalick¹⁶, M H Liu¹⁶, R E McGuire³, A Breneman⁴², K Kersten⁴², P Schroeder²

Affiliations

¹ 1Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, and Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
² 2Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, USA.
³ 3NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD USA.
⁴ 4Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
⁵ 5Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.
⁶ 6Tohoku University, 6-3, Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba Sendai, 980-8578 Japan.
⁷ 7Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan.
⁸ 8Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Daejeon, South Korea.
⁹ 9Cottage Systems, Iowa City, IA USA.
¹⁰ 10Space Sciences Department, The Aerospace Corporation, Chantilly, VA USA.
¹¹ 11Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA USA.
¹² 12Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH USA.
¹³ 13Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT USA.
¹⁴ 14Santa Cruz Institute of Particle Physics and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 USA.
¹⁵ 15European Space Agency, ESAC, SCI-OPD, Madrid, Spain.
¹⁶ 16ADNET Systems Inc., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD USA.
¹⁷ 17Institute of Space and Plasma Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
¹⁸ 18Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁹ 19Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
²⁰ 20Graduate Institute of Space Science, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
²¹ 21National Centers for Environmental Information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO USA.
²² 22Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO USA.
²³ 23Space Weather Prediction Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO USA.
²⁴ 24The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD USA.
²⁵ 25International Center for Space Weather Science and Education, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
²⁶ 26World Data Center for Geomagnetism, Kyoto Data Analysis Center for Geomagnetism and Space Magnetism, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
²⁷ 27National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo, Japan.
²⁸ 28Hida Observatory, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
²⁹ 29Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO USA.
³⁰ 30Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA USA.
³¹ 31Department of Geophysics, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
³² 32Physics Department and Space Science Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH USA.
³³ 33Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX USA.
³⁴ 34National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO USA.
³⁵ 35Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, CNRS/Ecole Polytechnique/Sorbonne Université/Univ. Paris Sud/Observatoire de Paris, Paris, France.
³⁶ 36Center for Space Physics, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA USA.
³⁷ 37Institute for Geophysics and Extraterrestrial Physics, Technical University of Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany.
³⁸ 38University of Calgary, Calgary, Ontario Canada.
³⁹ 39Center for Space Physics and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA USA.
⁴⁰ 40Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Physics, University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
⁴¹ 41The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA USA.
⁴² 42University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA.

PMID: 30880847
PMCID: PMC6380193
DOI: 10.1007/s11214-018-0576-4

Review

The Space Physics Environment Data Analysis System (SPEDAS)

V Angelopoulos et al. Space Sci Rev. 2019.

. 2019;215(1):9.

doi: 10.1007/s11214-018-0576-4. Epub 2019 Jan 22.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ 1Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences, and Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
² 2Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, USA.
³ 3NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD USA.
⁴ 4Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan.
⁵ 5Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.
⁶ 6Tohoku University, 6-3, Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba Sendai, 980-8578 Japan.
⁷ 7Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Sagamihara, Japan.
⁸ 8Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Daejeon, South Korea.
⁹ 9Cottage Systems, Iowa City, IA USA.
¹⁰ 10Space Sciences Department, The Aerospace Corporation, Chantilly, VA USA.
¹¹ 11Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA USA.
¹² 12Department of Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH USA.
¹³ 13Department of Physics, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT USA.
¹⁴ 14Santa Cruz Institute of Particle Physics and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 USA.
¹⁵ 15European Space Agency, ESAC, SCI-OPD, Madrid, Spain.
¹⁶ 16ADNET Systems Inc., NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD USA.
¹⁷ 17Institute of Space and Plasma Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
¹⁸ 18Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁹ 19Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
²⁰ 20Graduate Institute of Space Science, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
²¹ 21National Centers for Environmental Information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO USA.
²² 22Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO USA.
²³ 23Space Weather Prediction Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO USA.
²⁴ 24The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD USA.
²⁵ 25International Center for Space Weather Science and Education, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
²⁶ 26World Data Center for Geomagnetism, Kyoto Data Analysis Center for Geomagnetism and Space Magnetism, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
²⁷ 27National Institute of Polar Research, Tokyo, Japan.
²⁸ 28Hida Observatory, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
²⁹ 29Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO USA.
³⁰ 30Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA USA.
³¹ 31Department of Geophysics, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
³² 32Physics Department and Space Science Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH USA.
³³ 33Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX USA.
³⁴ 34National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO USA.
³⁵ 35Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, CNRS/Ecole Polytechnique/Sorbonne Université/Univ. Paris Sud/Observatoire de Paris, Paris, France.
³⁶ 36Center for Space Physics, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA USA.
³⁷ 37Institute for Geophysics and Extraterrestrial Physics, Technical University of Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany.
³⁸ 38University of Calgary, Calgary, Ontario Canada.
³⁹ 39Center for Space Physics and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA USA.
⁴⁰ 40Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Physics, University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
⁴¹ 41The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA USA.
⁴² 42University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA.

PMID: 30880847
PMCID: PMC6380193
DOI: 10.1007/s11214-018-0576-4

Abstract

With the advent of the Heliophysics/Geospace System Observatory (H/GSO), a complement of multi-spacecraft missions and ground-based observatories to study the space environment, data retrieval, analysis, and visualization of space physics data can be daunting. The Space Physics Environment Data Analysis System (SPEDAS), a grass-roots software development platform (www.spedas.org), is now officially supported by NASA Heliophysics as part of its data environment infrastructure. It serves more than a dozen space missions and ground observatories and can integrate the full complement of past and upcoming space physics missions with minimal resources, following clear, simple, and well-proven guidelines. Free, modular and configurable to the needs of individual missions, it works in both command-line (ideal for experienced users) and Graphical User Interface (GUI) mode (reducing the learning curve for first-time users). Both options have "crib-sheets," user-command sequences in ASCII format that can facilitate record-and-repeat actions, especially for complex operations and plotting. Crib-sheets enhance scientific interactions, as users can move rapidly and accurately from exchanges of technical information on data processing to efficient discussions regarding data interpretation and science. SPEDAS can readily query and ingest all International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP)-compatible products from the Space Physics Data Facility (SPDF), enabling access to a vast collection of historic and current mission data. The planned incorporation of Heliophysics Application Programmer's Interface (HAPI) standards will facilitate data ingestion from distributed datasets that adhere to these standards. Although SPEDAS is currently Interactive Data Language (IDL)-based (and interfaces to Java-based tools such as Autoplot), efforts are under-way to expand it further to work with python (first as an interface tool and potentially even receiving an under-the-hood replacement). We review the SPEDAS development history, goals, and current implementation. We explain its "modes of use" with examples geared for users and outline its technical implementation and requirements with software developers in mind. We also describe SPEDAS personnel and software management, interfaces with other organizations, resources and support structure available to the community, and future development plans.

Electronic supplementary material: The online version of this article (10.1007/s11214-018-0576-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Keywords: Geospace science; Ionospheric physics; Magnetospheric physics; Planetary magnetospheres; Solar wind; Space plasmas.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Spacecraft locations during a Heliophysics/Geospace System Observatory conjunction on 6 August, 2017, at 4–6 UT. THEMIS (TH-D) was at the magnetopause, ERG (Arase) at the pre-midnight inner magnetosphere, MMS in the near-Earth magnetotail and ARTEMIS in the magnetotail at lunar distances. (Modified from: http://themis.ssl.berkeley.edu click on Data → Summary Plots → Orbits: multi-mission)

**Fig. 2**
A few SPEDAS commands are sufficient to introduce, analyze and visualize H/GSO data from multiple instruments and spacecraft. (a) THEMIS PseudoAE index (unofficial, AE-like quantity derived from both the standard AE stations and additional stations in the American sector); (b) Pulsation data from mid-latitude magnetic station Honolulu indicating two activations; (c–e) ERG data showing magnetic field pulsations, ion injections, electron injections respectively; (f–i) MMS data showing negative-then-positive magnetic field $B_{z}$ component, negative-then-positive ion velocity $V_{x}$ component, ion spectra showing ion heating and electron spectra showing electron heating, respectively; (j–m) ARTEMIS data similar to MMS, showing a plasmoid (positive-then-negative $B_{z}$ ), moving tailward ( $V_{x} < 0$ ) and accompanied by ion and electron heating. This shows large-scale coupling in the magnetotail during this substorm

**Fig. 3**
Mosaic of all-sky images obtained from THEMIS Ground-Based Observatories (GBOs) with mapped ground tracks of the THEMIS satellites over $\pm 3 hrs$ around 08:00 UT, the time these images were taken and for which satellite locations are marked with an “X” next to the satellite identifier (P1–P5). The straight meridional red line marks magnetic midnight (dotted lines are constant magnetic latitude and longitude lines)

**Fig. 4a**
A representative Data Input session (the DSCOVR tab, invoked from “Data” → “Load Data using Plug-ins…” → “DSCOVR” tab) using the SPEDAS GUI with projects (missions, observatories, networks) each assigned its own tab. On the right is the list of all the data loaded at any point during the session (here Kyoto WDC-C data have been loaded, as well as OMNI data and DSCOVR data). The panel in the background is the main GUI panel, initially blank, but will be populated with multiple time-series panels once plotting occurs. It can also contain multiple plots (“Pages”) and the user can toggle between them from the appropriate menu button. The main menu contains all the GUI options including “Data” (for data input/output and switching between tplot and GUI variables), “Analysis” (which includes “Calculate…” and “Data Processing…”) and “Plot” (which includes “Plot/Layout Options…”)

**Fig. 4b**
The “calc” routine can be used also in the GUI mode through the “Calculate” button, located under the “Analysis” main GUI menu item. It enables generic data analysis, including complex operations (one line per operation in the scratch pad on the left) well beyond what is possible by standardized packages available through the “Data Processing…” button (also located under the “Analysis” main GUI menu item)

**Fig. 4c**
A representative multi-instrument, multi-mission plot from the GUI mode for a time encompassing that of Fig. 2. The AE index is shown on top, followed by the DSCOVR magnetic field (GSM coordinates plus total field), and the THEMIS-D magnetic field (GSM coordinates), ESA ion and ESA electron omnidirectional spectra. The bottom two panels are the GOES 13 magnetic field in ENP coordinates and the 40 keV electron energy flux from the 9 MAGED electron detectors (with different look directions). DSCOVR data have not been propagated from L1 to the subsolar magnetopause. Given the associated time delay of 50 min, it is evident that southward interplanetary magnetic field was responsible for the increased geomagnetic activity seen at the AE index between 04:20 and 05:40 UT. The GOES 13 electron flux enhancements corroborate that activity with injections seen at 04:40 and 05:20 UT. The latter pertains to the activity observed at ERG, MMS, and ARTEMIS seen in Fig. 2

**Fig. 5**
An example of SPEDAS web-services mode of use: the ERGWAT tool. This web-based form creates, in the background, SPEDAS commands that load, analyze and plot data, to the user’s specification. These commands are executed at the server institution in the SPEDAS command-line mode, and the resultant plot (in portable network graphics, PNG, form) is served on the user’s screen. The user need not know SPEDAS, or have an IDL license (it is free), and the connection up-/down-link speed requirements are modest, set by transmission of (small size) commands and PNGs, not data. The web-services mode is also useful for education and capacity building in space science, especially at remote schools or developing nations [Miyoshi et al. 2016], dramatically expanding the user base of the space physics community

**Fig. 6**
SPEDAS is comprised of library of routines in a hierarchy that reflects the code’s modularity and decentralization, the personnel management structure and the software’s development/maintenance

**Fig. 7**
SPEDAS framework showing its management structure: teams, roles and responsibilities. Lines represent common interaction channels. The core team facilitates these interactions so they are most efficient, maintains code, supports the community at large and manages SPEDAS personnel and code, including mitigating risks from IDL version releases and software technology evolution. NASA/HQ currently holds a modest SPEDAS support contract (1.6FTE) and the remainder of the core SPEDAS personnel is contributed by individual projects

**Fig. 8**
The SPEDAS interface with CDAWeb services allows the user to import data from any SPDF mission using the built-in query and data selection system of the CDAWeb front-end. This vastly expands the usability of SPEDAS in conjunction with SPDF to fetch and conduct data analysis and even more powerful visualization of the data in the user’s own machine. Left panel shows the “Load Data using CDAWeb” panel of SPEDAS. Right panel shows a plot of the quantities that were downloaded, which is accomplished with only a few mouse clicks. Further data analysis can proceed in SPEDAS GUI, or after mapping the data into tplot variables using the “Manage Tplot and GUI Variables” tab under I/O Data in the main menu

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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The Space Physics Environment Data Analysis System (SPEDAS)

Affiliations

The Space Physics Environment Data Analysis System (SPEDAS)

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Figures

References

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Miscellaneous