On Operational Simulation of Heliospheric Space Weather: Improvements in the WSA-ENLIL-Cone Modeling System (Invited Presentation)

The ENLIL-based heliospheric modeling system enables faster-than real-time simulations of corotating and transient disturbances. This hybrid system does not simulate origin of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) but uses appearance in coronagraphs, its geometric and kinematic parameters, and launches a CME-like hydrodynamic structure into the solar wind computed using the Wang-Sheeley-Arge (WSA) coronal model. Propagation and interaction in the heliosphere is then solved by a 3-D magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code. This modeling system is operationally used at NOAA/SWPC, NASA/CCMC, UK/MetOffice, and Korea/KSWPC. In this presentation, we introduce the recent improvements that support modeling of the evolving background solar wind, launching of CME-like transients with embedded magnetic structure, and further facilitate comparison with in-situ and remote observations. We introduce the "cone" and "spheromak" models for launching hydrodynamic and magnetic structures, respectively, and discuss their peculiarities and various realizations enabled by STEREO observations. Finally, we present results of the verification and validation studies, show improvements over the currently-used version, and illustrate broader applications of the new ENLIL version to support various heliospheric missions.