Nanoflare Heating in the Solar Corona

We employ a three dimensional magneto-hydrodynamical (3D MHD) model to investigate the statistics of the spatial and temporal distribution of the coronal heating. The model describes the evolution of the solar corona above an observed Active Region. This model is additionally compared to coronal models where the underlying photospheric magnetic field consists of simplified magnetic configurations. In all models random like photospheric motions braid the magnetic field. This induces currents in the upper atmosphere eventually leading to coronal heating by their dissipation. We analyze the heating process which is in general transient in time and space. We compare the results to observed flare statistics.