ISPM and STOA

ISPM and STOA

ISPM and STOAA have very similar inputs. Both rely on GOES X-ray observations of solar flares and Type II radio bursts to estimate the arrival time for interplanetary shocks. They require as inputs the location, intensity, and duration of x-ray flares, as observed by GOES. STOA also requires the ambient solar wind speed. The primary output is the predicted time of arrival for the interplanetary shock. ISPM has two additional features: it has an option to take into account the existence of a prior interplanetary shock and it can be used to estimate the geoeffectiveness (shock strength) of a particular shock. STOA is also capable of predicting shock arrival times at locations other than Earth, which is useful for a variety of planetary studies. It is also capable of predicting the magneto-acoustic mach number for the interplanetary shock, which can also be used for estimating the geoeffectiveness of a shock. The inputs and outputs for ISPM and STOAA are summarized in the table below.

For more information, Dryer and Smith have a good summary available if you click here.

	ISPM	STOA
INPUTS	Event Start and End Time or Duration Background X-Ray Flare Classification Peak Flare Classification Time to Decay to Background Level Type II Radio Burst Speed Flare Lattitude and Longitude Was there an Interplanetary Shock Within 24 Hours Before the Event? Observer Position, Name, and Spatial Orientation Relative to Sun and Earth	Event Start and End Time or Duration Background X-Ray Flare Classification Peak Flare Classification Time to Decay to Background Level Type II Radio Burst Speed Flare Lattitude and Longitude Solar Wind Speed Observer Position, Name, and Spatial Orientation Relative to Sun and Earth
OUTPUTS	Shock Time of Arrival Duration of Shock Propagation Shock Strength as Measured by the Dynamic Pressure Jump, DPJ	Shock Time of Arrival Duration of Shock Propagation Magneto-Acoustic Mach Number

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