Verstringe, Freek

Talk presented at ESA Space Weather Service Network Workshop 2026 on 2026-02-25

Abstract: Space weather forecasting depends on understanding a chain of related solar events—from the emergence and evolution of sunspots, to flare initiation, and onward to downstream impacts. Along this chain, information is drawn from a mix of human-assessed classifications and machine-derived measurements that describe similar phenomena but differ. These near-equivalent data sources are often treated independently potentially introducing inconsistencies adding friction in daily operations and in science use cases (traceability, reproducibility and validation). This talk examines how we harmonize human and machine-labeled solar data to better capture the event-driven progression underlying space weather. We discuss techniques for aligning datasets, reconciling subjective and objective representations, and preserving physical context across stages of the solar activity pipeline. Examples from sunspot characterization and flare forecasting illustrate how integrated, harmonized data can improve end-to-end space-weather event chains and supports more reliable forecasts. We will conclude with some practical recommendations e.g. versioning, change tracking, persistent identifiers etc.

Keyword(s): ESA Workshop
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