Global distribution of EMIC waves derived from THEMIS observations

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Abstract
[1] Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves play an important role in magnetospheric dynamics and their global distribution has been of great interest. This paper presents the distribution of EMIC waves over a broader range than ever before, as enabled by observations with the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) spacecraft from 2007 to 2010. Our major findings are: (1) There are two major peaks in the EMIC wave occurrence probability. One is at dusk and 8\textendash12 RE where the helium band dominates the hydrogen band waves. The other is at dawn and 10\textendash12 RE where the hydrogen band dominates the helium band waves. (2) In terms of wave spectral power the dusk events are stronger (≈10 nT2/Hz) than the dawn events (≈3 nT2/Hz). (3) The dawn waves have large normal angles (>45) in the hydrogen band and even larger normal angles
Year of Publication
2012
Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume
117
Date Published
05/2012
DOI
10.1029/2012JA017515
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