Modeling Gradual Diffusion Changes in Radiation Belt Electron Phase Space Density for the March 2013 Van Allen Probes Case Study

Author
Keywords
Abstract
March 2013 provided the first equinoctial period when all of the instruments on the Van Allen Probes spacecraft were fully operational. This interval was characterized by disturbances of outer zone electrons with two timescales of variation, diffusive and rapid dropout and restoration [Baker et al., 2014]. A radial diffusion model was applied to the month-long interval to confirm that electron phase space density is well described by radial diffusion for the whole month at low first invariant <=400 MeV/G, but peaks in phase space density observed by the ECT instrument suite at higher first invariant are not reproduced by radial transport from a source at higher L. The model does well for much of the month-long interval, capturing three of four enhancements in phase space density which emerge from the outer boundary, while the strong enhancement following dropout on 17-18 March requires local acceleration at higher first invariant (M = 1000 MeV/G vs. 200 MeV/G) not included in our model. We have incorporated phase space density from ECT measurement at the outer boundary and plasmapause determination from the EFW instrument to separate hiss and chorus loss models.
Year of Publication
2014
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Volume
119
Start Page
8396
Date Published
10/2014
URL
http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/2014JA020359
DOI
10.1002/2014JA020359
Download citation