The COSPAR international space weather action teams (ISWAT) initiative: a driving force for the COSPAR space weather roadmap

Maria M. Kuznetsova; Mario M. Bisi; Hermann J. Opgenoorth; Martin A. Reiss; M. Leila Mays; Lucilla Alfonsi; C. Nick Arge; David Barnes; Anna Belehaki; Thomas E. Berger; Amanda Brecht; Sean Bruinsma; Oyuki Chang; Claudio Corti; Emma Davies; Maher A. Dayeh; Gina A. DiBraccio; Alexander Y. Drozdov; Nathaniel A. Frissell; Katherine Garcia-Sage; Jingnan Guo; Edmund Henley; Carl J. Henney; Mainul Hoque; Kornyanat Hozumi; Insoo Jun; Melinda Kahre; Christina Kay; James A. Klimchuk; Larisza Krista; Piyush M. Mehta; John Morgan; Karin Muglach; Shaylah Mutschler; Barbara Perri; Petra Vanlommel; Christine Verbeke; Angelos Vourlidas; Elana Resnick; Evangelia Samara; Beatriz Sanchez-Cano; Valeriy Tenishev; Ioanna Tsagouri; Jia Yue; Peijin Zhang; Yihua Zheng; Pietro Zucca; Katarzyna Beser; Suzy Bingham; Todd L. Blum; Sherry Chhabra; Elke D’Huys; Ricky Egeland; Shing F. Fung; Alexi Glover; Manuel Grande; Siegfried Gonzi; Alexa Halford; Daniel Heynderick; Jan Janssens; Vania Jordanova; Jon Linker; Yingjuan Ma; Ian R. Mann; Satabdwa Majumdar; Arnaud Masson; Michelle Mendoza; Maaijke Mevius; Chris Mertens; Wojciech J. Miloch; Sophie A. Murray; Dibyendu Nandy; Evangelos Paouris; Alexei A. Pevtsov; Arik Posner; Ian G. Richardson; Robert Robinson; Nishtha Sachdeva; Tyler Schiewe; Camilla Scolini; Manuela Temmer; Gábor Toth; Dedong Wang; Kathryn Whitman; Chiu Wiegand; Chao Yue; Lulu Zhao; Maya Levisohn

doi:10.1016/j.asr.2026.04.041

The COSPAR international space weather action teams (ISWAT) initiative: a driving force for the COSPAR space weather roadmap

Maria M. Kuznetsova
, Mario M. Bisi
, Hermann J. Opgenoorth
, Martin A. Reiss
, M. Leila Mays
, Lucilla Alfonsi
, C. Nick Arge
, David Barnes
, Anna Belehaki
, Thomas E. Berger
, Amanda Brecht
, Sean Bruinsma
, Oyuki Chang
, Claudio Corti
, Emma Davies
, Maher A. Dayeh
, Gina A. DiBraccio
, Alexander Y. Drozdov
, Nathaniel A. Frissell
, Katherine Garcia-Sage

Jingnan Guo, Edmund Henley, Carl J. Henney, Mainul Hoque, Kornyanat Hozumi, Insoo Jun, Melinda Kahre, Christina Kay, James A. Klimchuk, Larisza Krista, Piyush M. Mehta, John Morgan, Karin Muglach, Shaylah Mutschler, Barbara Perri, Petra Vanlommel, Christine Verbeke, Angelos Vourlidas, Elana Resnick, Evangelia Samara, Beatriz Sanchez-Cano, Valeriy Tenishev, Ioanna Tsagouri, Jia Yue, Peijin Zhang, Yihua Zheng, Pietro Zucca, Katarzyna Beser, Suzy Bingham, Todd L. Blum, Sherry Chhabra, Elke D’Huys, Ricky Egeland, Shing F. Fung, Alexi Glover, Manuel Grande, Siegfried Gonzi, Alexa Halford, Daniel Heynderick, Jan Janssens, Vania Jordanova, Jon Linker, Yingjuan Ma, Ian R. Mann, Satabdwa Majumdar, Arnaud Masson, Michelle Mendoza, Maaijke Mevius, Chris Mertens, Wojciech J. Miloch, Sophie A. Murray, Dibyendu Nandy, Evangelos Paouris, Alexei A. Pevtsov, Arik Posner, Ian G. Richardson, Robert Robinson, Nishtha Sachdeva, Tyler Schiewe, Camilla Scolini, Manuela Temmer, Gábor Toth, Dedong Wang, Kathryn Whitman, Chiu Wiegand, Chao Yue, Lulu Zhao, Maya Levisohn

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
Umeå University
University of Leicester
Universities Space Research Association
Istituto Nazionale Di Geofisica E Vulcanologia
National Observatory of Athens
University of Colorado Boulder
NASA Ames Research Center
Centre national d'études spatiales
University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG)
Southwest Research Institute
University of California at Los Angeles
University of Scranton
University of Science and Technology of China
Met Office
Air Force Research Laboratory
German Aerospace Center
California Institute of Technology
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
West Virginia University
CSIRO
Catholic University of America
Space Environment Technologies
Université Paris-Saclay
Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence
KU Leuven
ASRC Federal
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy
Peraton
George Mason University
NASA Johnson Space Center
European Space Agency - ESA
Aberystwyth University
DH Consultancy BVBA
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Predictive Science Inc
University of Alberta
European Space Astronomy Centre
NASA Langley Research Center
University of Oslo
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
National Solar Observatory
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
European Research Council
University of Graz
Helmholtz Centre Potsdam - German Research Centre for Geosciences
KBR, Inc
Peking University
Telophase Corp.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

The International Space Weather Action Teams (ISWAT) is a grass-roots initiative that emerged as a global force from a small group of original founders in just a few years. ISWAT, hosted by the COSPAR Panel on Space Weather (PSW), serves as a hub for self-organised topical collaborations addressing space weather challenges, from solar origins to impacts on Earth and other planets. ISWAT has an infrastructure of action teams grouped into clusters by spatial domains and physical phenomena, that encompass overarching activities, and facilitate teamwork without borders or barriers. Anyone in the community can create a team, or join an existing team by completing a simple online application form. ISWAT is a professional, high-expertise community that encourages the participation of early-career scientists and provides research, and high-level mentorship, and encourages team co-leadership by researchers at different career stages. The joint activities of ISWAT mutually benefit participants, supplement core independent capabilities and maximise return on international/national/regional agencies’ investments in space weather efforts.ISWAT was a driving force behind the COSPAR PSW-ISWAT Space Weather Roadmap. Many of the science papers for the Roadmap Special Issue 1 (Science and Applications) were led by the ISWAT Action Teams The review papers for the COSPAR Special Issue 2 (Achievement and Future Goals, this issue) are aligned to mirror the ISWAT cluster structure. This paper narrates the history of ISWAT, describes its structure, core principles, and current status, and presents perspectives on ISWAT post-Roadmap activities while Bisi et al. (2026, this issue) provides the overarching outcomes of this Roadmap endeavor. The special focus of this manuscript is to lay out the plans for addressing Roadmap recommendations and to improve the cross-cluster working. Additional actions include establishing a new user-focused space weather training network, and exploring opportunities for collaborative shared environments and community modeling. First results are expected by the next ISWAT Working Meeting in spring 2027. ISWAT is aiming to provide a seedbed for a new generation of leaders and to serve as a resource for the International Space Weather Coordination Forum.

Original language	English
Journal	Advances in Space Research
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2026.04.041
State	Accepted/In press - 2026
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

COSPAR ISWAT
Collaboration
Community
Leadership
Space weather
Teams

Access to Document

10.1016/j.asr.2026.04.041

Cite this

Kuznetsova, M. M., Bisi, M. M., Opgenoorth, H. J., Reiss, M. A., Leila Mays, M., Alfonsi, L., Nick Arge, C., Barnes, D., Belehaki, A., Berger, T. E., Brecht, A., Bruinsma, S., Chang, O., Corti, C., Davies, E., Dayeh, M. A., DiBraccio, G. A., Drozdov, A. Y., Frissell, N. A., ... Levisohn, M. (Accepted/In press). The COSPAR international space weather action teams (ISWAT) initiative: a driving force for the COSPAR space weather roadmap. Advances in Space Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2026.04.041

@article{fea17b2284b448e79970d468568a627d,

title = "The COSPAR international space weather action teams (ISWAT) initiative: a driving force for the COSPAR space weather roadmap",

abstract = "The International Space Weather Action Teams (ISWAT) is a grass-roots initiative that emerged as a global force from a small group of original founders in just a few years. ISWAT, hosted by the COSPAR Panel on Space Weather (PSW), serves as a hub for self-organised topical collaborations addressing space weather challenges, from solar origins to impacts on Earth and other planets. ISWAT has an infrastructure of action teams grouped into clusters by spatial domains and physical phenomena, that encompass overarching activities, and facilitate teamwork without borders or barriers. Anyone in the community can create a team, or join an existing team by completing a simple online application form. ISWAT is a professional, high-expertise community that encourages the participation of early-career scientists and provides research, and high-level mentorship, and encourages team co-leadership by researchers at different career stages. The joint activities of ISWAT mutually benefit participants, supplement core independent capabilities and maximise return on international/national/regional agencies{\textquoteright} investments in space weather efforts.ISWAT was a driving force behind the COSPAR PSW-ISWAT Space Weather Roadmap. Many of the science papers for the Roadmap Special Issue 1 (Science and Applications) were led by the ISWAT Action Teams The review papers for the COSPAR Special Issue 2 (Achievement and Future Goals, this issue) are aligned to mirror the ISWAT cluster structure. This paper narrates the history of ISWAT, describes its structure, core principles, and current status, and presents perspectives on ISWAT post-Roadmap activities while Bisi et al. (2026, this issue) provides the overarching outcomes of this Roadmap endeavor. The special focus of this manuscript is to lay out the plans for addressing Roadmap recommendations and to improve the cross-cluster working. Additional actions include establishing a new user-focused space weather training network, and exploring opportunities for collaborative shared environments and community modeling. First results are expected by the next ISWAT Working Meeting in spring 2027. ISWAT is aiming to provide a seedbed for a new generation of leaders and to serve as a resource for the International Space Weather Coordination Forum.",

keywords = "COSPAR ISWAT, Collaboration, Community, Leadership, Space weather, Teams",

author = "Kuznetsova, \{Maria M.\} and Bisi, \{Mario M.\} and Opgenoorth, \{Hermann J.\} and Reiss, \{Martin A.\} and \{Leila Mays\}, M. and Lucilla Alfonsi and \{Nick Arge\}, C. and David Barnes and Anna Belehaki and Berger, \{Thomas E.\} and Amanda Brecht and Sean Bruinsma and Oyuki Chang and Claudio Corti and Emma Davies and Dayeh, \{Maher A.\} and DiBraccio, \{Gina A.\} and Drozdov, \{Alexander Y.\} and Frissell, \{Nathaniel A.\} and Katherine Garcia-Sage and Jingnan Guo and Edmund Henley and Henney, \{Carl J.\} and Mainul Hoque and Kornyanat Hozumi and Insoo Jun and Melinda Kahre and Christina Kay and Klimchuk, \{James A.\} and Larisza Krista and Mehta, \{Piyush M.\} and John Morgan and Karin Muglach and Shaylah Mutschler and Barbara Perri and Petra Vanlommel and Christine Verbeke and Angelos Vourlidas and Elana Resnick and Evangelia Samara and Beatriz Sanchez-Cano and Valeriy Tenishev and Ioanna Tsagouri and Jia Yue and Peijin Zhang and Yihua Zheng and Pietro Zucca and Katarzyna Beser and Suzy Bingham and Blum, \{Todd L.\} and Sherry Chhabra and Elke D{\textquoteright}Huys and Ricky Egeland and Fung, \{Shing F.\} and Alexi Glover and Manuel Grande and Siegfried Gonzi and Alexa Halford and Daniel Heynderick and Jan Janssens and Vania Jordanova and Jon Linker and Yingjuan Ma and Mann, \{Ian R.\} and Satabdwa Majumdar and Arnaud Masson and Michelle Mendoza and Maaijke Mevius and Chris Mertens and Miloch, \{Wojciech J.\} and Murray, \{Sophie A.\} and Dibyendu Nandy and Evangelos Paouris and Pevtsov, \{Alexei A.\} and Arik Posner and Richardson, \{Ian G.\} and Robert Robinson and Nishtha Sachdeva and Tyler Schiewe and Camilla Scolini and Manuela Temmer and G{\'a}bor Toth and Dedong Wang and Kathryn Whitman and Chiu Wiegand and Chao Yue and Lulu Zhao and Maya Levisohn",

note = "Publisher Copyright: Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of COSPAR.",

year = "2026",

doi = "10.1016/j.asr.2026.04.041",

language = "English",

journal = "Advances in Space Research",

issn = "0273-1177",

publisher = "Elsevier Ltd",

}

Kuznetsova, MM, Bisi, MM, Opgenoorth, HJ, Reiss, MA, Leila Mays, M, Alfonsi, L, Nick Arge, C, Barnes, D, Belehaki, A, Berger, TE, Brecht, A, Bruinsma, S, Chang, O, Corti, C, Davies, E, Dayeh, MA, DiBraccio, GA, Drozdov, AY, Frissell, NA, Garcia-Sage, K, Guo, J, Henley, E, Henney, CJ, Hoque, M, Hozumi, K, Jun, I, Kahre, M, Kay, C, Klimchuk, JA, Krista, L, Mehta, PM, Morgan, J, Muglach, K, Mutschler, S, Perri, B, Vanlommel, P, Verbeke, C, Vourlidas, A, Resnick, E, Samara, E, Sanchez-Cano, B, Tenishev, V, Tsagouri, I, Yue, J, Zhang, P, Zheng, Y, Zucca, P, Beser, K, Bingham, S, Blum, TL, Chhabra, S, D’Huys, E, Egeland, R, Fung, SF, Glover, A, Grande, M, Gonzi, S, Halford, A, Heynderick, D, Janssens, J, Jordanova, V, Linker, J, Ma, Y, Mann, IR, Majumdar, S, Masson, A, Mendoza, M, Mevius, M, Mertens, C, Miloch, WJ, Murray, SA, Nandy, D, Paouris, E, Pevtsov, AA, Posner, A, Richardson, IG, Robinson, R, Sachdeva, N, Schiewe, T, Scolini, C, Temmer, M, Toth, G, Wang, D, Whitman, K, Wiegand, C, Yue, C, Zhao, L & Levisohn, M 2026, 'The COSPAR international space weather action teams (ISWAT) initiative: a driving force for the COSPAR space weather roadmap', Advances in Space Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2026.04.041

TY - JOUR

T1 - The COSPAR international space weather action teams (ISWAT) initiative

T2 - a driving force for the COSPAR space weather roadmap

AU - Kuznetsova, Maria M.

AU - Bisi, Mario M.

AU - Opgenoorth, Hermann J.

AU - Reiss, Martin A.

AU - Leila Mays, M.

AU - Alfonsi, Lucilla

AU - Nick Arge, C.

AU - Barnes, David

AU - Belehaki, Anna

AU - Berger, Thomas E.

AU - Brecht, Amanda

AU - Bruinsma, Sean

AU - Chang, Oyuki

AU - Corti, Claudio

AU - Davies, Emma

AU - Dayeh, Maher A.

AU - DiBraccio, Gina A.

AU - Drozdov, Alexander Y.

AU - Frissell, Nathaniel A.

AU - Garcia-Sage, Katherine

AU - Guo, Jingnan

AU - Henley, Edmund

AU - Henney, Carl J.

AU - Hoque, Mainul

AU - Hozumi, Kornyanat

AU - Jun, Insoo

AU - Kahre, Melinda

AU - Kay, Christina

AU - Klimchuk, James A.

AU - Krista, Larisza

AU - Mehta, Piyush M.

AU - Morgan, John

AU - Muglach, Karin

AU - Mutschler, Shaylah

AU - Perri, Barbara

AU - Vanlommel, Petra

AU - Verbeke, Christine

AU - Vourlidas, Angelos

AU - Resnick, Elana

AU - Samara, Evangelia

AU - Sanchez-Cano, Beatriz

AU - Tenishev, Valeriy

AU - Tsagouri, Ioanna

AU - Yue, Jia

AU - Zhang, Peijin

AU - Zheng, Yihua

AU - Zucca, Pietro

AU - Beser, Katarzyna

AU - Bingham, Suzy

AU - Blum, Todd L.

AU - Chhabra, Sherry

AU - D’Huys, Elke

AU - Egeland, Ricky

AU - Fung, Shing F.

AU - Glover, Alexi

AU - Grande, Manuel

AU - Gonzi, Siegfried

AU - Halford, Alexa

AU - Heynderick, Daniel

AU - Janssens, Jan

AU - Jordanova, Vania

AU - Linker, Jon

AU - Ma, Yingjuan

AU - Mann, Ian R.

AU - Majumdar, Satabdwa

AU - Masson, Arnaud

AU - Mendoza, Michelle

AU - Mevius, Maaijke

AU - Mertens, Chris

AU - Miloch, Wojciech J.

AU - Murray, Sophie A.

AU - Nandy, Dibyendu

AU - Paouris, Evangelos

AU - Pevtsov, Alexei A.

AU - Posner, Arik

AU - Richardson, Ian G.

AU - Robinson, Robert

AU - Sachdeva, Nishtha

AU - Schiewe, Tyler

AU - Scolini, Camilla

AU - Temmer, Manuela

AU - Toth, Gábor

AU - Wang, Dedong

AU - Whitman, Kathryn

AU - Wiegand, Chiu

AU - Yue, Chao

AU - Zhao, Lulu

AU - Levisohn, Maya

N1 - Publisher Copyright: Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of COSPAR.

PY - 2026

Y1 - 2026

N2 - The International Space Weather Action Teams (ISWAT) is a grass-roots initiative that emerged as a global force from a small group of original founders in just a few years. ISWAT, hosted by the COSPAR Panel on Space Weather (PSW), serves as a hub for self-organised topical collaborations addressing space weather challenges, from solar origins to impacts on Earth and other planets. ISWAT has an infrastructure of action teams grouped into clusters by spatial domains and physical phenomena, that encompass overarching activities, and facilitate teamwork without borders or barriers. Anyone in the community can create a team, or join an existing team by completing a simple online application form. ISWAT is a professional, high-expertise community that encourages the participation of early-career scientists and provides research, and high-level mentorship, and encourages team co-leadership by researchers at different career stages. The joint activities of ISWAT mutually benefit participants, supplement core independent capabilities and maximise return on international/national/regional agencies’ investments in space weather efforts.ISWAT was a driving force behind the COSPAR PSW-ISWAT Space Weather Roadmap. Many of the science papers for the Roadmap Special Issue 1 (Science and Applications) were led by the ISWAT Action Teams The review papers for the COSPAR Special Issue 2 (Achievement and Future Goals, this issue) are aligned to mirror the ISWAT cluster structure. This paper narrates the history of ISWAT, describes its structure, core principles, and current status, and presents perspectives on ISWAT post-Roadmap activities while Bisi et al. (2026, this issue) provides the overarching outcomes of this Roadmap endeavor. The special focus of this manuscript is to lay out the plans for addressing Roadmap recommendations and to improve the cross-cluster working. Additional actions include establishing a new user-focused space weather training network, and exploring opportunities for collaborative shared environments and community modeling. First results are expected by the next ISWAT Working Meeting in spring 2027. ISWAT is aiming to provide a seedbed for a new generation of leaders and to serve as a resource for the International Space Weather Coordination Forum.

AB - The International Space Weather Action Teams (ISWAT) is a grass-roots initiative that emerged as a global force from a small group of original founders in just a few years. ISWAT, hosted by the COSPAR Panel on Space Weather (PSW), serves as a hub for self-organised topical collaborations addressing space weather challenges, from solar origins to impacts on Earth and other planets. ISWAT has an infrastructure of action teams grouped into clusters by spatial domains and physical phenomena, that encompass overarching activities, and facilitate teamwork without borders or barriers. Anyone in the community can create a team, or join an existing team by completing a simple online application form. ISWAT is a professional, high-expertise community that encourages the participation of early-career scientists and provides research, and high-level mentorship, and encourages team co-leadership by researchers at different career stages. The joint activities of ISWAT mutually benefit participants, supplement core independent capabilities and maximise return on international/national/regional agencies’ investments in space weather efforts.ISWAT was a driving force behind the COSPAR PSW-ISWAT Space Weather Roadmap. Many of the science papers for the Roadmap Special Issue 1 (Science and Applications) were led by the ISWAT Action Teams The review papers for the COSPAR Special Issue 2 (Achievement and Future Goals, this issue) are aligned to mirror the ISWAT cluster structure. This paper narrates the history of ISWAT, describes its structure, core principles, and current status, and presents perspectives on ISWAT post-Roadmap activities while Bisi et al. (2026, this issue) provides the overarching outcomes of this Roadmap endeavor. The special focus of this manuscript is to lay out the plans for addressing Roadmap recommendations and to improve the cross-cluster working. Additional actions include establishing a new user-focused space weather training network, and exploring opportunities for collaborative shared environments and community modeling. First results are expected by the next ISWAT Working Meeting in spring 2027. ISWAT is aiming to provide a seedbed for a new generation of leaders and to serve as a resource for the International Space Weather Coordination Forum.

KW - COSPAR ISWAT

KW - Collaboration

KW - Community

KW - Leadership

KW - Space weather

KW - Teams

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105037511023

U2 - 10.1016/j.asr.2026.04.041

DO - 10.1016/j.asr.2026.04.041

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105037511023

SN - 0273-1177

JO - Advances in Space Research

JF - Advances in Space Research

ER -

The COSPAR international space weather action teams (ISWAT) initiative: a driving force for the COSPAR space weather roadmap

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Keywords

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