Abstract/Summary

This thesis will provide an overview of the knowledge of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs), and of the methods used to predict the arrival of Earth-directed ICMEs in near-Earth space. The ability to accurately predict both their transit time and arrival speed is important, as ICMEs are a space weather hazard, and may have detrimental effects on human technology. I present three pieces of research: an analysis of real-time predictions of ICME arrival speed and transit time made from Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO) real-time data by SolarStormwatch’s citizen scientists; an analysis of hindcasts of ICME arrival speed and transit time made using STEREO’s higher resolution science data, covering the same time period as the first research piece; and a study of the drag force model, and its use as a quick method for predicting ICME arrival speed and transit time. This work could provide useful information on the best image resolution for accurate ICME predictions for future missions to study ICME propagation.