Ismo Tähtinen

I study the behavior of the Sun's global magnetic field over medium-term (> 6 months) and long-term (> 5 years) time scales. My reserach focuses on how this global magnetic field is shaped by the emergence and decay of strong localized magnetic field sources called active regions. I am especially interested in the equatorial component of the solar magnetic field as it seems to play crucial role in shaping Earth's space environment (magnetic field, solar wind) on medium-term time scales. The disturbances in near-Earth conditions can have noticeable effects that extend as far as the winter weather in Finland. My work combines the numerical modeling of the Sun's magnetic field with the current and historical solar observations that date back as far as a century.