China Advances Space Weather Forecasting with the Completion of the Meridian Project Phase II
The Chinese Meridian Project enhances global space weather monitoring capabilities and contributes to scientific research.
The Chinese Meridian Project (CMP), a significant scientific infrastructure, has successfully passed national acceptance for its second phase, marking a major advancement in space weather forecasting in China.
This project, recognized as the Ground-based Space Environment Monitoring Network, is the first of its kind globally to provide comprehensive ground-based monitoring of the Sun-Earth space environment, from the solar atmosphere to near-Earth space.
The Solar-Terrestrial region is crucial for space activities, but it is susceptible to catastrophic space weather events that can disrupt satellite operations, communications, navigation systems, and electrical power grids.
As such, effective space weather forecasting and early warning systems are vital for mitigating these risks.
Managed by the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the first phase of the CMP commenced in 2008 and concluded in 2012. The second phase began construction in November 2019 and has now emerged as an integral part of China’s scientific and technological development.
The project encompasses over 30 observation stations across China and the polar regions, allowing for extensive data collection and monitoring capabilities.
The CMP-Phase II provides sophisticated tracking and monitoring of solar storms, offering independent data critical for enhancing China's forecasting and analytical capabilities regarding space weather.
It also contributes to research into the Sun-Earth space environment's overall dynamic mechanisms and the fundamental physical processes underlying space physics.
Key components of CMP-Phase II include advanced technological instruments such as the Daocheng Radio Telescope, capable of producing 3D coronal tomography within a 10-solar-radius field of view; a lidar array designed for continuous detection of atmospheric metastable helium across altitudes between 200 and 1,000 kilometers; and the world's first tristatic incoherent scatter radar, which performs ionospheric computed tomography and 3D imaging over extensive distances.
Additionally, the project features the Chinese Dual Auroral Radar Network (CN-DARN), a high-frequency radar array positioned in mid-latitudes that enables large-scale continuous monitoring of ionospheric dynamics in high latitude Asian regions.
This innovation bridges previous monitoring gaps left by earlier systems like SuperDARN.
During trial operations, CMP-Phase II successfully collected observation data, including tracking a significant geomagnetic storm event in May 2024, which demonstrated its capacity to monitor the Sun-Earth space environment’s response to solar activity.
Building on the success of the CMP, China is initiating the International Meridian Circle Program, which aims to establish all-latitude, all-weather, and continuous observation capabilities for monitoring the Sun-Earth space environment, furthering international collaboration in space weather studies.
This project, recognized as the Ground-based Space Environment Monitoring Network, is the first of its kind globally to provide comprehensive ground-based monitoring of the Sun-Earth space environment, from the solar atmosphere to near-Earth space.
The Solar-Terrestrial region is crucial for space activities, but it is susceptible to catastrophic space weather events that can disrupt satellite operations, communications, navigation systems, and electrical power grids.
As such, effective space weather forecasting and early warning systems are vital for mitigating these risks.
Managed by the National Space Science Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the first phase of the CMP commenced in 2008 and concluded in 2012. The second phase began construction in November 2019 and has now emerged as an integral part of China’s scientific and technological development.
The project encompasses over 30 observation stations across China and the polar regions, allowing for extensive data collection and monitoring capabilities.
The CMP-Phase II provides sophisticated tracking and monitoring of solar storms, offering independent data critical for enhancing China's forecasting and analytical capabilities regarding space weather.
It also contributes to research into the Sun-Earth space environment's overall dynamic mechanisms and the fundamental physical processes underlying space physics.
Key components of CMP-Phase II include advanced technological instruments such as the Daocheng Radio Telescope, capable of producing 3D coronal tomography within a 10-solar-radius field of view; a lidar array designed for continuous detection of atmospheric metastable helium across altitudes between 200 and 1,000 kilometers; and the world's first tristatic incoherent scatter radar, which performs ionospheric computed tomography and 3D imaging over extensive distances.
Additionally, the project features the Chinese Dual Auroral Radar Network (CN-DARN), a high-frequency radar array positioned in mid-latitudes that enables large-scale continuous monitoring of ionospheric dynamics in high latitude Asian regions.
This innovation bridges previous monitoring gaps left by earlier systems like SuperDARN.
During trial operations, CMP-Phase II successfully collected observation data, including tracking a significant geomagnetic storm event in May 2024, which demonstrated its capacity to monitor the Sun-Earth space environment’s response to solar activity.
Building on the success of the CMP, China is initiating the International Meridian Circle Program, which aims to establish all-latitude, all-weather, and continuous observation capabilities for monitoring the Sun-Earth space environment, furthering international collaboration in space weather studies.
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