Further investigation will require the placement of dedicated GPS receivers in Africa, which presently has only a few dozen. "There aren't enough sensors in Africa to study the phenomenon," said Tim Fuller-Rowell of the University of Colorado in Boulder and an organizer of the Africa Space Weather Workshop being held in Addis Ababa. "North America has thousands of GPS receivers in a network we use to monitor North American plumes," he said. One goal of the conference is to raise awareness of the scientific quest in Africa and interest researchers in setting up hundreds of GPS receivers. "Five years from now we hope to be making real-time maps of the ionosphere over Africa, too," Fuller-Rowell said. Better maps of the ionosphere would help forecasters predict when and where plasma plumes will strike so airlines and GPS users can plan accordingly. "Plumes are predictable," said Jerry Goldstein, a principal scientist with the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. "Like storms on Earth, plumes are not preventable, but advance warning can make a huge difference in their impact." Related Links: |
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