Speaker
Description
We propose the use of Jupiter’s sporadic decametric (DAM) emission as a natural radio beacon tool for advancing space weather diagnostics across planetary environments. Owing to its strong intensity and broad frequency coverage, Jovian DAM signals are highly sensitive to plasma conditions encountered along its propagation path, from Jupiter’s magnetosphere, through the interplanetary medium, to Earth’s ionosphere. This makes it an invaluable complementary tool for probing heliospheric variability and assessing its impacts on planetary systems.
High-resolution spectra obtained from ground-based facilities such as UTR-2, GURT, LOFAR, NenuFAR, LWA and other ground-based instruments, combined with in situ measurements from spacecraft missions such as Juno and the forthcoming JUICE, provide the means to identify and characterize modulation patterns imprinted on Jupiter’s DAM waves. These patterns, manifested as scintillation, Faraday fringes, or shadowing effects, encode information about plasma densities, turbulence levels, and magnetic field variations across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Importantly, their visibility depends on the frequency–time resolution of observations, highlighting the need for advanced instrumentation and data processing techniques.
In the broader context of space weather research, Jovian DAM observations offer several important advantages. First, they enable remote diagnostics of plasma conditions in regions otherwise difficult to probe, such as interplanetary space far from Earth. Second, they provide a natural multipoint monitoring system, since DAM signals are continuously emitted and affected by plasma processes along diverse propagation paths. Third, can be integrated with already established methods of solar wind diagnostics, such as interplanetary scintillation monitoring, radio sounding, and direct spacecraft measurements, creating a more comprehensive framework for tracking solar wind variability and its planetary impacts. Finally, the long-term record of Jovian radio observations enables comparative studies across solar cycles, linking modulation signatures to solar activity indices such as sunspot (Wolf) numbers.
For planetary environments beyond Earth, this approach complements direct spacecraft measurements and modeling efforts. By serving as a sensitive probe of heliospheric variability, Jovian DAM can help assess how solar activity influences planetary ionospheres and magnetospheres, including those of the Moon, Mars, and future exploration targets. Such studies can enhance predictive capabilities for space weather impacts on both natural planetary environments and human activities in space.
This approach underscores the interdisciplinary potential of Jovian DAM observations. By bridging planetary radio science, heliophysics, and space weather research, Jovian radiation offers a novel pathway toward improving our ability to monitor and predict plasma conditions across the solar system. Beyond advancing fundamental understanding, this method provides a practical strategy for using natural planetary radio emissions as real-time diagnostics of evolving plasma conditions, from the Sun, through the interplanetary medium, to planetary environments.
