ACE SWICS 2.0: Solar Wind Heavy Ion Measurements from 2011

ACE SWICS 2.0 is a time series dataset from the NASA Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) satellite, providing measurements of heavy ions in the solar wind. The dataset begins after August 23, 2011, following a hardware anomaly, and includes elemental abundance, charge state composition, and kinetic distribution data. It represents a continuation of unique heavy ion measurements not available from other instruments, with new analysis methods developed for the post-anomaly instrument state.

Use Cases

• Modeling solar wind dynamics based on elemental abundance time series.
• Analyzing space weather events based on charge state composition data.
• Studying kinetic properties of solar wind particles based on distribution measurements.
• Comparing pre- and post-2011 solar wind conditions based on the described instrument state change.

Strengths

• Provides unique heavy ion measurements not available from other instruments.
• Covers a specific time period beginning after August 23, 2011.
• New data analysis methods were developed to address the statistical and calibration issues of the current instrument state.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is specific to the post-anomaly instrument state and should not be confused with the earlier SWICS 1.1 dataset.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from the ACE/SWICS instrument.

Time Range

Begins after August 23, 2011.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 04:38:43.263803; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Solar wind measurements from the ACE satellite at the L1 Lagrange point.