The Chromo-Coronal Mass Cycle, its Impact on Spectral Signals and their Variations
Tied to Preferred Scales of Magneto-Convection
Scott McIntosh [mscott@ucar.edu], National Center for Atmospheric Research, High
Altitude Observatory, Boulder, Colorado
We will look at the initial and final signatures of the chromo-coronal mass cycle
through the analysis of spectroscopic and imaging datasets acquired by SOHO [SUMER],
Hinode [EIS & SOT] and SDO/AIA. This heating/cooling, ionizing and recombining
cycle of material is the essence of understanding our star's spectral irradiance. Using
synoptic observations of the chromospheric/transition region network [SOHO/EIT,
SDO/AIA] and underlying photospheric magnetism [SOHO/MDI, SDO/HMI] we see a
dependence of the emission on preferred scales of magneto-convection. These scales
modulate over a solar activity cycle and play an important role in governing the
underlying, or "basal", modulation of the Sun's radiative and particulate output. We will
pose some interesting questions about how these scales arise, where they are relevant,
how they connect, and about the scaling of the processes at the root of coronal mass
supply that lie at the heart of the problem.