Positions

Research Areas research areas

Overview

  • James Clemmons works in the field of space physics. His interests include auroral phenomena, physics of the Earth's ionosphere-thermosphere system, and the magnetosphere. Primary methods of inquiry are space experiments and instrumentation, as well as analysis of data. He serves as a Co-Investigator on NASA's Van Allen Probes and Magnetospheric Multiscale missions. Recent sounding rocket experiments include the Auroral Jet and RENU-2 missions, and current projects include the VISIONS-2, TOMEX-Plus, and Dynamo-2 sounding rocket missions, the LLITED cubesat mission, analysis of data from the TWINS-ES experiment, and modeling of the atmospheric mass density anomaly beneath the earth's magnetospheric cusp.
  • Selected Publications

    Academic Article

    Year Title
    2022 Resonant Alfven Waves in the Lower Auroral Ionosphere: Evidence for the Nonlinear Evolution of the Ionospheric Feedback InstabilityJournal of Geophysical Research.  127. 2022
    2020 Overview of the Rocket Experiment for Neutral Upwelling Sounding Rocket 2 (RENU2)Geophysical Research Letters.  47. 2020
    2020 RENU2 UV PMT Observations of the CuspGeophysical Research Letters.  47. 2020
    2020 A New Technique for Estimating the Lifetime of Bursts of Electron Precipitation From Sounding Rocket MeasurementsGeophysical Research Letters.  47. 2020
    2020 Daytime Dynamo Electrodynamics With Spiral Currents Driven by Strong Winds Revealed by Vapor Trails and Sounding Rocket Probes.Geophysical Research Letters.  47:e2020GL088803. 2020
    2020 RENU2 Rocket Observations of Fine-Scale Thermal Ion Upflow, Downflow, and Temperature 2020
    2019 A Revised Look at Relativistic Electrons in the Earth's Inner Radiation Zone and Slot Region.Journal of Geophysical Research.  124:934-951. 2019
    2018 Autogenous and efficient acceleration of energetic ions upstream of Earth's bow shock.Nature.  561:206-210. 2018
    2018 Observations of Spatial Variations in O/N-2 During an Auroral Substorm Using the Multichannel Downlooking Camera on the VISIONS RocketJournal of Geophysical Research.  123:7089-7105. 2018
    2018 Scientific Objectives of Electron Losses and Fields INvestigation Onboard Lomonosov SatelliteSpace Science Reviews.  214:25. 2018
    2017 Multipoint Observations of Energetic Particle Injections and Substorm Activity During a Conjunction Between Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) and Van Allen ProbesJournal of Geophysical Research.  122:11481-11504. 2017
    2017 The hidden dynamics of relativistic electrons (0.7-1.5 MeV) in the inner zone and slot regionJournal of Geophysical Research.  122:3127-3144. 2017
    2016 Current energetic particle sensorsJournal of Geophysical Research.  121:8840-8858. 2016
    2016 Energy limits of electron acceleration in the plasma sheet during substorms: A case study with the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) missionGeophysical Research Letters.  43:7785-7794. 2016
    2016 Inner zone and slot electron radial diffusion revisitedGeophysical Research Letters.  43:7301-7310. 2016
    2016 Microinjections observed by MMS FEEPS in the dusk to midnight regionGeophysical Research Letters.  43:6078-6086. 2016
    2016 Observations of energetic particle escape at themagnetopause: Early results from the MMS Energetic Ion Spectrometer (EIS)Geophysical Research Letters.  43:5960-5968. 2016
    2016 Electron-scale measurements of magnetic reconnection in space.Science.  352:aaf2939. 2016
    2016 High-resolution modeling of the cusp density anomaly: Response to particle and Joule heating under typical conditionsJournal of Geophysical Research.  121:2645-2661. 2016
    2016 The Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) Investigation and the Energetic Ion Spectrometer (EIS) for the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) MissionSpace Science Reviews.  199:471-514. 2016
    2016 The Fly's Eye Energetic Particle Spectrometer (FEEPS) Sensors for the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) MissionSpace Science Reviews.  199:309-329. 2016
    2015 VISIONS remote observations of a spatially-structured filamentary source of energetic neutral atoms near the polar cap boundary during an auroral substormAdvances in Space Research.  56:2097-2105. 2015
    2015 LAICE CubeSat mission for gravity wave studiesAdvances in Space Research.  56:1413-1427. 2015
    2015 A background correction algorithm for Van Allen Probes MagEIS electron flux measurementsJournal of Geophysical Research.  120:5703-5727. 2015
    2015 Long-Term Galactic Cosmic Ray Environment Response of Plasma Analyzers on High-Altitude SpacecraftJournal of Spacecraft and Rockets.  52:1169-1180. 2015
    2015 Van Allen Probes show that the inner radiation zone contains no MeV electrons: ECT/MagEIS dataGeophysical Research Letters.  42:1283-1289. 2015
    2015 On the use of drift echoes to characterize on-orbit sensor discrepanciesJournal of Geophysical Research.  120:2076-2087. 2015
    2015 VISIONS remote observations of a spatially-structured filamentary source of energetic neutral atoms near the polar cap boundary during an auroral substormAdvances in Space Research.  56:2097-2105. 2015
    2014 Van Allen Probes observations of direct wave- particle interactionsGeophysical Research Letters.  41:1869-1875. 2014
    2014 An empirically observed pitch-angle diffusion eigenmode in the Earth's electron belt near L*=5.0Geophysical Research Letters.  41:251-258. 2014
    2013 Science Goals and Overview of the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) Energetic Particle, Composition, and Thermal Plasma (ECT) Suite on NASA's Van Allen Probes MissionSpace Science Reviews.  179:311-336. 2013
    2013 The Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS) Instruments Aboard the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) SpacecraftSpace Science Reviews.  179:383-421. 2013
    2013 Van Allen Probes observation of localized drift resonance between poloidal mode ultra-low frequency waves and 60 keV electronsGeophysical Research Letters.  40:4491-4497. 2013
    2013 Rapid, highly structured meridional winds and their modulation by non migrating tides: Measurements from the Streak missionJournal of Geophysical Research.  118:866-877. 2013
    2012 A multiyear (2002-2006) climatology of O/N-2 in the lower thermosphere from TIMED GUVI and ground-based photometer observationsJournal of Geophysical Research.  117:n/a-n/a. 2012
    2012 Strong magnetic field fluctuations within filamentary auroral density cavities interpreted as VLF saucer sourcesJournal of Geophysical Research.  117:n/a-n/a. 2012
    2012 High-latitude E region ionosphere-thermosphere coupling: A comparative study using in situ and incoherent scatter radar observationsJournal of Geophysical Research.  117:n/a-n/a. 2012
    2012 A multiyear (2002–2006) climatology of O/N2 in the lower thermosphere from TIMED GUVI and ground‐based photometer observationsJournal of Geophysical Research.  117. 2012
    2010 Thermal ion upflow in the cusp ionosphere and its dependence on soft electron energy fluxJournal of Geophysical Research.  115:n/a-n/a. 2010
    2009 The Ionization Gauge Investigation for the Streak MissionSpace Science Reviews.  145:263-283. 2009
    2009 The Two Wide-angle Imaging Neutral-atom Spectrometers (TWINS) NASA Mission-of-OpportunitySpace Science Reviews.  142:157-231. 2009
    2008 Thermospheric density in the Earth's magnetic cusp as observed by the Streak missionGeophysical Research Letters.  35. 2008
    2006 Chemistry of N2O decomposition on active sites with different nature: Effect of high-temperature treatment of Fe/ZSM-5Journal of Catalysis.  238:186-195. 2006
    2006 Computational analysis of high-altitude ionization gauge flight measurementsJournal of Spacecraft and Rockets.  43:186-193. 2006
    2006 The outer radiation belt injection, transport, acceleration and loss satellite (ORBITALS): A canadian small satellite mission for ILWSAdvances in Space Research.  38:1838-1860. 2006
    2004 Lower-hybrid cavity density depletions as a result of transverse ion acceleration localized on the gyroradius scaleJournal of Geophysical Research.  109. 2004
    2004 Solar windmagnetosphere-ionosphere coupling: an event study based on Freja dataJournal of Atmospheric and Solar: Terrestrial Physics.  66:375-380. 2004
    2004 Core ion interactions with BB ELF, lower hybrid, and Alfven waves in the high-latitude topside ionosphereJournal of Geophysical Research.  109. 2004
    2004 Airglow emissions and oxygen mixing ratios from the photometer experiment on the Turbulent Oxygen Mixing Experiment (TOMEX)Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.  109. 2004
    2004 An overview of observations of unstable layers during the Turbulent Oxygen Mixing Experiment (TOMEX)Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres.  109. 2004
    2002 Electron signatures and Alfven wavesJournal of Geophysical Research.  107:SMP-15. 2002
    2002 Electromagnetic waves and bursty electron acceleration: implications from FrejaAnnales Geophysicae: atmospheres, hydrospheres and space sciences.  20:139-150. 2002
    2001 Inhomogeneous transverse electric fields and wave generation in the auroral region: A statistical studyJournal of Geophysical Research.  106:10803-10816. 2001
    2001 Acceleration signatures in the dayside boundary layer and the cuspPhysics and Chemistry of the Earth, Part C: Solar, Terrestrial & Planetary Science.  26:195-200. 2001
    2001 The collision meter: An experimental technique to measure charged-neutral interactions and gas composition in the upper atmospherePhysics and Chemistry of the Earth, Part C: Solar, Terrestrial & Planetary Science.  26:247-252. 2001
    2000 Driving dayside convection with northward IMF: Observations by a sounding rocket launched from SvalbardJournal of Geophysical Research.  105:5245-5263. 2000
    2000 Observations of traveling Pc5 waves and their relation to the magnetic cloud event of January 1997Journal of Geophysical Research.  105:5441-5452. 2000
    1999 Evolution of mesoscale auroral cavities before substorm onsetJournal of Geophysical Research.  104:17201-17215. 1999
    1999 Energy transport during O+ energization by ELF waves observed by the Freja satelliteJournal of Geophysical Research.  104:2563-2572. 1999
    1999 Birkeland currents associated with optical auroraAdvances in Space Research.  23:1653-1656. 1999
    1998 Field-line resonances triggered by a northward IMF turningGeophysical Research Letters.  25:2991-2994. 1998
    1998 Initial FAST observations of acceleration processes in the cuspGeophysical Research Letters.  25:2037-2040. 1998
    1998 Simultaneous observations of solar wind plasma entry from FAST and POLARGeophysical Research Letters.  25:2081-2084. 1998
    1998 Mass spectroscopy using a rotating electric fieldReview of Scientific Instruments.  69:2285-2291. 1998
    1998 Broadband ELF plasma emission during auroral energization 1. Slow ion acoustic wavesJournal of Geophysical Research.  103:4343-4375. 1998
    1998 Correlation between core ion energization, suprathermal electron bursts, and broadband ELF plasma wavesJournal of Geophysical Research.  103:4171-4186. 1998
    1998 Freja and ground-based analysis of inverted-V eventsJournal of Geophysical Research.  103:4303-4314. 1998
    1998 Freja studies of the current-voltage relation in substorm-related eventsJournal of Geophysical Research.  103:4285-4301. 1998
    1998 Identification of auroral oval boundaries from in situ magnetic field measurementsJournal of Geophysical Research.  103:4187-4197. 1998
    1997 Toward a consistent picture of the generation of electromagnetic ion cyclotron ELF waves on auroral field linesJournal of Geophysical Research.  102:24369-24386. 1997
    1997 On low-altitude particle acceleration and intense electric fields and their relationship to black auroraJournal of Geophysical Research.  102:17509-17522. 1997
    1997 Cavity resonators and Alfven resonance cones observed on FrejaJournal of Geophysical Research.  102:2565-2575. 1997
    1996 Dynamic response of the cusp morphology to the solar wind: A case study during passage of the solar wind plasma cloud on February 21, 1994Journal of Geophysical Research.  101:24675-24687. 1996
    1996 Ion cyclotron heating in the dayside magnetosphereJournal of Geophysical Research.  101:13179-13193. 1996
    1996 Ionospheric signature of the cusp as seen by incoherent scatter radarJournal of Geophysical Research.  101:10947-10963. 1996
    1996 Studies of auroral arcs using Freja satellite and ground-based dataAdvances in Space Research.  18:107-110. 1996
    1995 OBSERVATIONS OF AN UPWARD-DIRECTED ELECTRON-BEAM WITH THE PERPENDICULAR TEMPERATURE OF THE COLD IONOSPHEREGeophysical Research Letters.  22:2103-2106. 1995
    1995 IMPULSIVE ION INJECTIONS IN THE MORNING AURORAL REGIONJournal of Geophysical Research.  100:12133-12149. 1995
    1995 Auroral measurements from space brought into the classroomThe Physics Teacher.  33:34-41. 1995
    1995 FREJA OBSERVATIONS OF A 10-METER BOUNDARY WITHIN MONOENERGETIC AURORAL ELECTRON-PRECIPITATIONGeophysical Research Letters.  22:69-72. 1995
    1994 THE TESP ELECTRON SPECTROMETER AND CORRELATOR (F7) ON FREJASpace Science Reviews.  70:509-540. 1994
    1994 WAVE RECTIFICATION IN PLASMA SHEATHS SURROUNDING ELECTRIC-FIELD ANTENNASJournal of Geophysical Research.  99:21361-21374. 1994
    1994 FREJA OBSERVATIONS OF NARROW INVERTED-V ELECTRON-PRECIPITATION BY THE 2-DIMENSIONAL ELECTRON SPECTROMETERGeophysical Research Letters.  21:1895-1898. 1994
    1994 INVERTED-V EVENTS SIMULTANEOUSLY OBSERVED WITH THE FREJA SATELLITE AND FROM THE GROUNDGeophysical Research Letters.  21:1891-1894. 1994
    1994 SIGNATURES OF ENERGY-TIME DISPERSED ELECTRON-FLUXES MEASURED BY FREJAGeophysical Research Letters.  21:1899-1902. 1994
    1994 SUB-KILOMETER THERMAL PLASMA STRUCTURE NEAR 1750-KM ALTITUDE IN THE POLAR CUSP CLEFTGeophysical Research Letters.  21:1907-1910. 1994
    1994 THE IONOSPHERIC SIGNATURE OF THE CUSP - A CASE-STUDY USING FREJA AND THE SONDRESTROM RADARGeophysical Research Letters.  21:1923-1926. 1994
    1991 WAVELENGTH MEASUREMENT OF AURORAL HISSJournal of Geophysical Research.  96:21299-21307. 1991
    1991 EVIDENCE OF A TRANSVERSE LANGMUIR MODULATIONAL INSTABILITY IN A SPACE PLASMAGeophysical Research Letters.  18:1177-1180. 1991
    1991 OBSERVATION OF ELECTRON BUNCHING DURING LANDAU GROWTH AND DAMPINGJournal of Geophysical Research.  96:11371-11378. 1991
    1991 LANGMUIR WAVE GROWTH AND ELECTRON BUNCHING - RESULTS FROM A WAVE-PARTICLE CORRELATORJournal of Geophysical Research.  96:225-238. 1991
    1990 HIGH-RESOLUTION SOUNDING ROCKET OBSERVATIONS OF LARGE-AMPLITUDE ALFVEN WAVESJournal of Geophysical Research.  95:12157-12171. 1990
    1983 POSSIBLE PRECURSORS IN HCN OLIGOMERIZATION A SEARCH FOR STABLE H2C2N2 ISOMERSMolecular Physics: An International Journal at the Interface Between Chemistry and Physics.  48:631-637. 1983

    Book

    Year Title
    2009 Heliophysics: The Solar and Space Physics of a New Era. Recommended Roadmap for Science and Technology 2009-2030 2009

    Chapter

    Year Title
    2017 Future Atmosphere-Ionosphere-Magnetosphere Coupling Study RequirementsGeophysical Monograph Series. 357-378. 2017
    2016 Future Atmosphere‐Ionosphere‐Magnetosphere Coupling Study Requirements.  355-376. 2016
    2000 Electron Signatures and Alfven Waves 2000
    1998 Novel Measurement of the Pitch-Angle Structure of Auroral Electron Beams with a Top Hat Spectrometer.  169-174. 1998
    1998 Relationship between large-, meso-, and small-scale field-aligned currents and their current carriers.  173-188. 1998
    1998 The Data System for the Freja F7 Electron Spectrometer.  181-186. 1998
    1993 Sounding Rocket Observations of Ion Injections in the Morning Convection Reversal Region.  227-231. 1993

    Conference Paper

    Year Title
    2017 The Low-Latitude Ionosphere/Thermosphere Enhancements in Density (LLITED) MissionProceedings of the 31st Annual AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites. 2017
    2016 High Efficiency Fourth-Harmonic Generation from Nanosecond Fiber Master Oscillator Power AmplifierProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. 973108-973108. 2016
    2006 Multi-Channel Charge Amplifier-Discriminator-Counter IC for the Space SciencesIEEE Nuclear Science Symposium Conference Record. 1605-1608. 2006
    2004 Analysis of High-Altitude Ionization Gauge Measurements Using the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Method37th AIAA Thermophysics Conference. 2686. 2004
    2002 Lower hybrid ion heating cavities in the auroral ionospherePlasma Science, 2002. ICOPS 2002. IEEE Conference Record-Abstracts. The 29th IEEE International Conference on. 201-201. 2002
    1997 Electron density distribution in the magnetosphereEuropean Space Agency, (Special Publication) ESA SP. 53-58. 1997

    Patent

    Year Title
    Windowless microbolometer array

    Principal Investigator On

  • EVEX2  awarded by University Of Illinois 2023 - 2026
  • Developing a New Wind Instrume  awarded by National Aeronautics & Space Admin (NASA) 2023 - 2026
  • Low-resource Winds Instrumentation for Scientific Measurements in Planetary Thermospheres  awarded by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 2022 - 2025
  • COUINS Rocket  awarded by University of Colorado 2021 - 2025
  • Comprehensive characterization of the response of the high latitude upper-atmosphere  awarded by University of Maryland Baltimore County 2021 - 2023
  • MIGSI Sensor  awarded by The Aerospace Corporation 2019 - 2023
  • TOMEXplus  awarded by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 2020 - 2023
  • TOMEXplus  awarded by National Aeronautics & Space Admin (NASA) 2020 - 2023
  • Polar Wind Ambipolar Electric  awarded by National Aeronautics & Space Admin (NASA) 2019 - 2022
  • Dynamo 2  awarded by National Aeronautics & Space Admin (NASA) 2018 - 2022
  • Dynamos, Winds, and Electric Fields in the Daytime Lower Iono-Sphere (Dynamo 2)  awarded by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 2018 - 2022
  • Endurance: Gauging Earth's Polar Wind Ambipolar Electric Field  awarded by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 2019 - 2022
  • MIGSI Sensor Augmentation  awarded by The Aerospace Corporation 2021 - 2022
  • MIGSI Sensor  awarded by The Aerospace Corporation 2019 - 2022
  • Upper Atmosphere Emulation Fac  awarded by US DOD, Air Force 2020 - 2022
  • Upper Atmosphere Emulation Facility for Research on the Response of the Thermosphere-Ionosphere  awarded by US DOD, Air Force 2020 - 2022
  • Comprehensive Characterization of the Response of the High Latitude Upper-Atmosphere  awarded by University of Maryland 2020 - 2021
  • High Latitude Upper Atmosphere  awarded by University of Maryland 2020 - 2021
  • Aeronomy at Earth: Tools for Heliophysics Exploration and Research  awarded by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 2020 - 2021
  • Teaching Activities

  • Doctoral Research Taught course
  • Doctoral Research Taught course
  • Space Plasma Physics Taught course
  • Doctoral Research Taught course 2024
  • Doctoral Research Taught course 2023
  • Senior Design Project Taught course 2023
  • Student Research Experience Taught course 2023
  • Doctoral Research Taught course 2022
  • General Physics I Studio Taught course 2022
  • Senior Design Project Taught course 2022
  • Doctoral Research Taught course 2022
  • Space Plasma Physics Taught course 2022
  • Doctoral Research Taught course 2021
  • Doctoral Research Taught course 2021
  • General Physics I Studio Taught course 2020
  • General Physics I Recitation Taught course 2020
  • General Physics I Studio Taught course 2019
  • General Physics II Recitation Taught course 2019
  • General Physics II Recitation Taught course 2019
  • General Physics I Recitation Taught course 2018
  • Full Name

  • James Clemmons
  • Mailing Address

  • University of New Hampshire

    Physics

    8 College Road

    Durham, New Hampshire  03824

    United States