Authors: Mario M. Bisi (RAL Space, United Kingdom Research And Innovation - Science & Technology Facilities Council - Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, United Kingdom), Biagio Forte (Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom), Steve Milan (School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom), David J. Jackson (Met Office, Exeter, United Kingdom), Richard A. Fallows (RAL Space, United Kingdom Research And Innovation - Science & Technology Facilities Council - Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, United Kingdom), Bernard V. Jackson (Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, USA), Dusan Odstrcil (George Mason University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Fairfax, USA / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Heliophysics Division, Greenbelt, USA), Edmund Henley (Met Office, Exeter, United Kingdom), David Barnes (RAL Space, United Kingdom Research And Innovation - Science & Technology Facilities Council - Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, United Kingdom), Oyuki Chang (RAL Space, United Kingdom Research And Innovation - Science & Technology Facilities Council - Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, United Kingdom), Matthew Bracamontes (Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, USA), Siegfried Gonzi (Met Office, Exeter, United Kingdom), and Paul Kinsler (Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom)

The NERC-funded Radio Investigations for Space Environment Research (RISER) project addresses the chain of events through which the Sun creates adverse space-weather conditions at Earth and within the Earth’s space environment. RISER aims to investigate how the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR) can be utilised for continuous and accurate tracking of inner-heliospheric and ionospheric plasma structures, combined with magnetospheric modelling, leading to more-precise and advanced forecasts of space-weather conditions and their impacts at Earth. RISER will provide a comprehensive understanding of the Earth’s space-environment through the use of novel radio observations and modelling techniques to investigate coupling between solar-driven inner-heliospheric structures and the Earth.

RISER brings together a unique set of different radio techniques along with various types of modelling and other data sets. It is a five-year project, which commenced on 01 September 2023 with partners in the UK and the USA. RISER will facilitate the upgrading of the LOFAR-UK Rawlings Array at Chilbolton to the new dual-beam, LOFAR For Space Weather (LOFAR4SW) capability, providing the potential for 24/7 space-weather observations towards the end of the five-year project.

Here, we give a reminder of the RISER project and its high-level objectives including the importance and relevance to advancing our understanding of space-weather science and impacts. We will report on progress to date throughout the first year of the project with an outlook on the next steps.