scholarly journals Explaining sudden losses of outer radiation belt electrons during geomagnetic storms

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 208-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew L. Turner ◽  
Yuri Shprits ◽  
Michael Hartinger ◽  
Vassilis Angelopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Radiation Belt ◽  
Geomagnetic Storms ◽  
Outer Radiation Belt ◽  
Radiation Belt Electrons

ULF Wave Power During Geomagnetic Storms and Implications for Radial Diffusion Processes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasmine Sandhu ◽  
Jonathan Rae ◽  
John Wygant ◽  
Aaron Breneman ◽  
Sheng Tian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Diffusion Coefficients ◽  
Radiation Belt ◽  
Geomagnetic Storms ◽  
Radial Diffusion ◽  
Ulf Waves ◽  
Wave Power ◽  
Outer Radiation Belt ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Ulf Wave

<p>Ultra Low Frequency (ULF) waves drive radial diffusion of radiation belt electrons, where this process contributes to and, at times, dominates energisation, loss, and large scale transport of the outer radiation belt. In this study we quantify the changes and variability in ULF wave power during geomagnetic storms, through a statistical analysis of Van Allen Probes data for the time period spanning 2012 – 2019. The results show that global wave power enhancements occur during the main phase, and continue into the recovery phase of storms. Local time asymmetries show sources of ULF wave power are both external solar wind driving as well as internal sources from coupling with ring current ions and substorms.</p><p>The statistical analysis demonstrates that storm time ULF waves are able to access lower L values compared to pre-storm conditions, with enhancements observed within L = 4. We assess how magnetospheric compressions and cold plasma distributions shape how ULF wave power propagates through the magnetosphere. Results show that the Earthward displacement of the magnetopause is a key factor in the low L enhancements. Furthermore, the presence of plasmaspheric plumes during geomagnetic storms plays a crucial role in trapping ULF wave power, and contributes significantly to large storm time enhancements in ULF wave power.</p><p>The results have clear implications for enhanced radial diffusion of the outer radiation belt during geomagnetic storms. Estimates of storm time radial diffusion coefficients are derived from the ULF wave power observations, and compared to existing empirical models of radial diffusion coefficients. We show that current Kp-parameterised models, such as the Ozeke et al. [2014] model, do not fully capture the large variability in storm time radial diffusion coefficients or the extent of enhancements in the magnetic field diffusion coefficients.</p>

On the effect of ULF waves on the outer radiation belt during geomagnetic storms

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Lara ◽  
Pablo S. Moya ◽  
Victor Pinto ◽  
Javier Silva ◽  
Beatriz Zenteno
Keyword(s):  
Relativistic Electron ◽  
Radiation Belt ◽  
Geomagnetic Storms ◽  
Cumulative Effect ◽  
Radiation Belts ◽  
Ulf Waves ◽  
Relativistic Electrons ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Outer Radiation Belt ◽  
Ulf Wave

<p>The inner magnetosphere is a very important region to study, as with satellite-based communications increasing day after day, possible disruptions are especially relevant due to the possible consequences in our daily life. It is becoming very important to know how the radiation belts behave, especially during strong geomagnetic activity. The radiation belts response to geomagnetic storms and solar wind conditions is still not fully understood, as relativistic electron fluxes in the outer radiation belt can be depleted, enhanced or not affected following intense activity. Different studies show how these results vary in the face of different events. As one of the main mechanisms affecting the dynamics of the radiation belt are wave-particle interactions between relativistic electrons and ULF waves. In this work we perform a statistical study of the relationship between ULF wave power and relativistic electron fluxes in the outer radiation belt during several geomagnetic storms, by using magnetic field and particle fluxes data measured by the Van Allen Probes between 2012 and 2017. We evaluate the correlation between the changes in flux and the cumulative effect of ULF wave activity during the main and recovery phases of the storms for different position in the outer radiation belt and energy channels. Our results show that there is a good correlation between the presence of ULF waves and the changes in flux during the recovery phase of the storm and that correlations vary as a function of energy. Also, we can see in detail how the ULF power change for the electron flux at different L-shell We expect these results to be relevant for the understanding of the relative role of ULF waves in the enhancements and depletions of energetic electrons in the radiation belts for condition described.</p>

Simulations of the Relativistic Radiation Belt Electrons Using the VERB-3D Code

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dedong Wang ◽  
Yuri Shprits ◽  
Alexander Drozdov ◽  
Nikita Aseev ◽  
Irina Zhelavskaya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Space Weather ◽  
Radiation Belt ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Dynamic Evolution ◽  
Relativistic Electrons ◽  
Outer Radiation Belt ◽  
Chorus Waves ◽  
Van Allen Probes ◽  
Radiation Belt Electrons ◽  
Simulation Results

<p>Using the three-dimensional Versatile Electron Radiation Belt (VERB-3D) code, we perform simulations to investigate the dynamic evolution of relativistic electrons in the Earth’s outer radiation belt. In our simulations, we use data from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) to set up the outer boundary condition, which is the only data input for simulations. The magnetopause shadowing effect is included by using last closed drift shell (LCDS), and it is shown to significantly contribute to the dropouts of relativistic electrons at high $L^*$. We validate our simulation results against measurements from Van Allen Probes. In long-term simulations, we test how the latitudinal dependence of chorus waves can affect the dynamics of the radiation belt electrons. Results show that the variability of chorus waves at high latitudes is critical for modeling of megaelectron volt (MeV) electrons. We show that, depending on the latitudinal distribution of chorus waves under different geomagnetic conditions, they cannot only produce a net acceleration but also a net loss of MeV electrons. Decrease in high‐latitude chorus waves can tip the balance between acceleration and loss toward acceleration, or alternatively, the increase in high‐latitude waves can result in a net loss of MeV electrons. Variations in high‐latitude chorus may account for some of the variability of MeV electrons. </p><p>Our simulation results for the NSF GEM Challenge Events show that the position of the plasmapause plays a significant role in the dynamic evolution of relativistic electrons. We also perform simulations for the COSPAR International Space Weather Action Team (ISWAT) Challenge for the year 2017. The COSPAR ISWAT is a global hub for collaborations addressing challenges across the field of space weather. One of the objectives of the G3-04 team “Internal Charging Effects and the Relevant Space Environment” is model performance assessment and improvement. One of the expected outputs is a more systematic assessment of model performance under different conditions. The G3-04 team proposed performing benchmarking challenge runs. We ‘fly’ a virtual satellite through our simulation results and compare the simulated differential electron fluxes at 0.9 MeV and 57.27 degrees local pitch-angle with the fluxes measured by the Van Allen Probes. In general, our simulation results show good agreement with observations. We calculated several different matrices to validate our simulation results against satellite observations.</p>

Long‐Term Dropout of Relativistic Electrons in the Outer Radiation Belt During Two Sequential Geomagnetic Storms

2020 ◽  
Vol 125 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Wu ◽  
T. Chen ◽  
V. V. Kalegaev ◽  
M. I. Panasyuk ◽  
N. A. Vlasova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radiation Belt ◽  
Geomagnetic Storms ◽  
Relativistic Electrons ◽  
Outer Radiation Belt

The dynamics of the inner boundary of the outer radiation belt during geomagnetic storms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaofei Shi ◽  
Jie Ren ◽  
Qiugang Zong
Keyword(s):  
Radiation Belt ◽  
Electron Flux ◽  
Geomagnetic Storms ◽  
Minimum Energy ◽  
Onset Time ◽  
Recovery Phase ◽  
Outer Radiation Belt ◽  
H Index ◽  
Late Recovery ◽  
Energy Dependent

<p>We present a statistical study of energy-dependent and L shell-dependent inner boundary of the outer radiation belt during 37 isolated geomagnetic storms using observations from Van Allen Probes from 2013 to 2017. There are mutual transformations between "V-shaped" and "S-shaped" inner boundaries during different storm phases, resulting from the competition among electron loss, radial transport and local acceleration. The radial position, onset time, E<sub>st</sub> (the minimum energy at L<sub>st</sub> where the inner boundary starts to exhibit an S-shaped form), and the radial width of S-shaped boundary (ΔL) are quantitatively defined according to the formation of a reversed energy spectrum (electron flux going up with increasing energies from hundreds of keV to ~1 MeV) from a kappa-like spectrum (electron flux steeply falling with increasing energies). The case and statistical results present that (1) The inner boundary has repeatable features associated with storms: the inner boundary is transformed from S-shaped to V-shaped form in several hours during the storm commencement and main phase, and retains in the V-shaped form for several days until it evolves into S-shaped during late recovery phase; (2) ΔL shows positive correlation with SYM-H index; (3) The duration of the V-shaped form is positively correlated with the storm intensity and the duration of the recovery phase; (4) The minimum energy E<sub>st</sub> are mainly distributed in the range of 100-550 keV. All these findings have important implications for understanding the dynamics of energetic electrons in the slot region and the outer radiation belt during geomagnetic storms.</p>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document