Feature-based validation of the Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry magnetohydrodynamical model

Numerical simulation of these phenomena is of increasing interest, but validation has been hampered by a lack of a formal framework to compare simulations to satellite-derived products. We develop a statistical approach to compare FAC simulations from global magnetohydrodynamical models against satellite products.

We introduce a robust algorithm that automatically detects and defines regions 1 and 2 FACs. In an example, currents derived from the Iridium satellites are compared against simulated currents from two resolutions of the Lyon-Fedder-Mobarry model on one solar event. We assess both average and structured discrepancies, the former being a level shift of the physical model away from the satellite product, while structural discrepancy refers to time-varying, continuous differences.