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Found 40 entries in the Bibliography.
Showing entries from 1 through 40
| 2021 |
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Superposed Epoch Analysis of Dispersionless Particle Injections Inside Geosynchronous Orbit AbstractDispersionless injections, involving sudden, simultaneous flux enhancements of energetic particles over some broad range of energy, are a characteristic signature of the particles that are experiencing a significant acceleration and/or rapid inward transport at the leading edge of injections. We have statistically analyzed data from Van Allen Probes (also known as RBSP ) to reveal where the proton (H+) and electron (e–) dispersionless injections occur preferentially inside geosynchronous orbit and how they develop depending on local magnetic field changes. By surveying measurements of RBSP during four tail seasons in 2012–2019, we have identified 171 dispersionless injection events. Most of the events, which are accompanied by local magnetic dipolarizations, occur in the dusk-to-midnight sector, regardless of particle species. Out of the selected 171 events, 75 events exhibit dispersionless injections of both H+ and e–, which occur within 2 minutes of each other. With only three exceptions, the both-species injection events are further divided into two main subgroups: One is the H+ preceding e– events with a time offset of tens of seconds between H+ and e–, and the other the concurrent H+ and e– events without any time offset. Our superposed epoch results raise the intriguing possibility that the presence or absence of a pronounced negative dip in the local magnetic field ahead of the concurrent sharp dipolarization determines which of the two subgroups will occur. The difference between the two subgroups may be explained in terms of the dawn-dusk asymmetry of localized diamagnetic perturbations ahead of a deeply-penetrating dipolarization front.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Motoba, T.; Ohtani, S.; Gkioulidou, M.; Ukhorskiy, A; Lanzerotti, L.; Claudepierre, S.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 07/2021 YEAR: 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JA029546 Dispersionless injections; substorms; inner magnetosphere; Van Allen Probes |
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A Multi-instrument Study of a Dipolarization Event in the Inner Magnetosphere Abstract A dipolarization of the background magnetic field was observed during a conjunction of the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft and Van Allen Probe B on 22 September 2018. The spacecraft were located in the inner magnetosphere at L ∼ 6 − 7 just before midnight magnetic local time (MLT). The radial separation between MMS and Probe B was ∼ 1RE. Gradual dipolarization or an increase of the northward component BZ of the background field occurred on a timescale of minutes. Exploration of energization and Radiation in Geospace (ERG) located 0.5 MLT eastward at a similar L shell also measured a gradual increase. The spatial scale was of the order of 1 RE. On top of that, MMS and Probe B measured BZ increases, and a decrease in one case, on a timescale of seconds, accompanied by large electric fields with amplitudes > several tens of mV/m. Spatial scale lengths were of the order of the ion inertial length and the ion gyroradius. The inertial term in the momentum equation and the Hall term in the generalized Ohm’s law were sometimes non-negligible. These small-scale variations are discussed in terms of the ballooning/interchange instability (BICI) and kinetic Alfvén waves among others. It is inferred that physics of multiple scales was involved in the dynamics of this dipolarization event. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Matsui, H.; Torbert, R.; Spence, H.; Argall, M.; Cohen, I.; Cooper, M.; Ergun, R.; Farrugia, C.; Fennell, J.; Fuselier, S.; Gkioulidou, M.; Khotyaintsev, Yu.; Lindqvist, P.-A.; Matsuoka, A.; Russell, C.; Shoji, M.; Strangeway, R.; Turner, D.; Vaith, H.; Wygant, J.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 05/2021 YEAR: 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JA029294 Dipolarization; inner magnetosphere; Multiple Scale Dynamics; Van Allen Probes |
| 2020 |
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The k-nearest-neighbor technique is used to mine a multimission magnetometer database for a subset of data points from time intervals that are similar to the storm state of the magnetosphere for a particular moment in time. These subsets of data are then used to fit an empirical magnetic field model. Performing this for each snapshot in time reconstructs the dynamic evolution of the magnetic and electric current density distributions during storms. However, because weaker storms occur more frequently than stronger storms, the reconstructions are biased toward them. We demonstrate that distance weighting the nearest-neighbors mitigates this issue while allowing a sufficient amount of data to be included in the fitting procedure to limit overfitting. Using this technique, we reconstruct the distribution of the magnetic field and electric currents and their evolution for two storms, the intense 17–19 March 2015 “Saint Patrick s Day” storm and a moderate storm occurring on 13–15 July 2013, from which the pressure distributions can be computed assuming isotropy and by integrating the steady-state force-balance equation. As the main phase of a storm progresses in time, the westward ring current density and pressure increases in the inner magnetosphere particularly on the nightside, becoming more symmetric as the recovery phase progresses. We validate the empirical pressure by comparing it to the observed pressures from the Van Allen Probes mission by summing over particle fluxes from all available energy channels and species. Stephens, G.; Bingham, S.; Sitnov, M.; Gkioulidou, M.; Merkin, V.; Korth, H.; Tsyganenko, N.; Ukhorskiy, A; Published by: Space Weather Published on: 10/2020 YEAR: 2020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020SW002583 storms; empirical geomagnetic field; ring current; data mining; eastward current; plasma pressure; Van Allen Probes |
| 2019 |
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The Storm-Time Ring Current Response to ICMEs and CIRs Using Van Allen Probe Observations Using Van Allen Probe observations of the inner magnetosphere during geomagnetic storms driven by interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) and corotating interaction regions (CIRs), we characterize the impact of these drivers on the storm-time ring current development. Using 25 ICME- and 35 CIR-driven storms, we have determined the ring current pressure development during the prestorm, main, early-recovery, and late-recovery storm phases, as a function of magnetic local time, L shell and ion species (H+, He+, and O+) over the 100- to 600-keV energy range. Consistent with previous results, we find that during the storm main phase, most of the ring current pressure in the inner magnetosphere is contributed by particles on open drift paths drifting duskward leading to a strong partial ring current. The largest difference between the ICME and CIR ring current responses during the storm main and early-recovery phases is the difference in the response of the <~55-keV O+ to these drivers. While the H+ pressure response shows similar source and convection patterns for ICME and CIR storms, the O+ pressure response is significantly stronger for ICME storms. The ICME O+ pressure increases more strongly than H+ with decreasing L and peaks at lower L shells than H+. Mouikis, C.; Bingham, S.; Kistler, L.; Farrugia, C.; Spence, H.; Reeves, G.; Gkioulidou, M.; Mitchell, D.; Kletzing, C.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 10/2019 YEAR: 2019 DOI: 10.1029/2019JA026695 ICME vs CI; R Ion composition; Ring Current Pressure; Storm phases; Van Allen Probes |
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Substorm-Ring Current Coupling: A Comparison of Isolated and Compound Substorms Substorms are a highly variable process, which can occur as an isolated event or as part of a sequence of multiple substorms (compound substorms). In this study we identify how the low-energy population of the ring current and subsequent energization varies for isolated substorms compared to the first substorm of a compound event. Using observations of H+ and O+ ions (1 eV to 50 keV) from the Helium Oxygen Proton Electron instrument onboard Van Allen Probe A, we determine the energy content of the ring current in L-MLT space. We observe that the ring current energy content is significantly enhanced during compound substorms as compared to isolated substorms by \~20\textendash30\%. Furthermore, we observe a significantly larger magnitude of energization (by \~40\textendash50\%) following the onset of compound substorms relative to isolated substorms. Analysis suggests that the differences predominantly arise due to a sustained enhancement in dayside driving associated with compound substorms compared to isolated substorms. The strong solar wind driving prior to onset results in important differences in the time history of the magnetosphere, generating significantly different ring current conditions and responses to substorms. The observations reveal information about the substorm injected population and the transport of the plasma in the inner magnetosphere. Sandhu, J.; Rae, I.; Freeman, M.; Gkioulidou, M.; Forsyth, C.; Reeves, G.; Murphy, K.; Walach, M.-T.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 08/2019 YEAR: 2019 DOI: 10.1029/2019JA026766 inner magnetosphere; ring current; substorms; Van Allen; Van Allen Probes |
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Plasma kinetic theory predicts that sufficiently anisotropic proton distribution will excite electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves, which in turn relax the proton distribution to a marginally stable state creating an upper bound on the relaxed proton anisotropy. Here, using EMIC wave observations and coincident plasma measurements made by Van Allen Probes in the inner magnetosphere, we show that the proton distributions are well constrained by this instability to a marginally stable state. Near the threshold, the probability of EMIC wave occurrence is highest, having left-handed polarization and observed near the magnetic equator with relatively small wave normal angles, indicating that these waves are locally generated. In addition, EMIC waves are distributed in two magnetic local time regions with different intensity. Compared with helium band waves, hydrogen band waves behave similarly except that they are often observed in low-density regions. These results reveal several important features regarding EMIC waves excitation and propagation. Yue, Chao; Jun, Chae-Woo; Bortnik, Jacob; An, Xin; Ma, Qianli; Reeves, Geoffrey; Spence, Harlan; Gerrard, Andrew; Gkioulidou, Matina; Mitchell, Donald; Kletzing, Craig; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 04/2019 YEAR: 2019 DOI: 10.1029/2019GL082633 EMIC waves; helium-band; hydrogen-band; plasma beta; proton temperature anisotropy; Van Allen Probes |
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Ion transport from the plasma sheet to the ring current is the main cause of the development of the ring current. Energetic (>150 keV) ring current ions are known to be transported diffusively in several days. A recent study suggested that energetic oxygen ions are transported closer to the Earth than protons due to the diffusive transport caused by a combination of the drift and drift-bounce resonances with Pc 3\textendash5 ultralow frequency waves during the 24 April 2013 magnetic storm. To understand the occurrence conditions of such selective oxygen increase (SOI), we investigate the phase space densities (PSDs) between protons and oxygen ions with the first adiabatic invariants (μ) of 0.1\textendash2.0 keV/nT measured by the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment instrument on the Van Allen Probes at L ~ 3\textendash6 during 90 magnetic storms in 2013\textendash2017. We identified the SOI events in which oxygen PSDs increase while proton PSDs do not increase during a period of ~9 hr (one orbital period). Among the 90 magnetic storms, 33\% were accompanied by the SOI events. Global enhancements of Pc 4 and Pc 5 waves observed by ground magnetometers during the SOI events suggest that radial transport due to combination of the drift-bounce resonance with Pc 4 oscillations and the drift resonance with Pc 5 oscillations can be the cause of SOIs. The contribution of the SOI events to the magnetic storm intensity is roughly estimated to be ~9\% on average. Mitani, K.; Seki, K.; Keika, K.; Gkioulidou, M.; Lanzerotti, L.; Mitchell, D.; Kletzing, C.; Yoshikawa, A.; Obana, Y.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 04/2019 YEAR: 2019 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA026168 Magnetic Storms; Oxygen ions; ring current; Van Allen Probes |
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Global Empirical Picture of Magnetospheric Substorms Inferred From Multimission Magnetometer Data Magnetospheric substorms represent key explosive processes in the interaction of the Earth\textquoterights magnetosphere with the solar wind, and their understanding and modeling are critical for space weather forecasting. During substorms, the magnetic field on the nightside is first stretched in the antisunward direction and then it rapidly contracts earthward bringing hot plasmas from the distant space regions into the inner magnetosphere, where they contribute to geomagnetic storms and Joule dissipation in the polar ionosphere, causing impressive splashes of aurora. Here we show for the first time that mining millions of spaceborne magnetometer data records from multiple missions allows one to reconstruct the global 3-D picture of these stretching and dipolarization processes. Stretching results in the formation of a thin (less than the Earth\textquoterights radius) and strong current sheet, which is diverted into the ionosphere during dipolarization. In the meantime, the dipolarization signal propagates further into the inner magnetosphere resulting in the accumulation of a longer lived current there, giving rise to a protogeomagnetic storm. The global 3-D structure of the corresponding substorm currents including the substorm current wedge is reconstructed from data. Stephens, G.; Sitnov, M.; Korth, H.; Tsyganenko, N.; Ohtani, S.; Gkioulidou, M.; Ukhorskiy, A; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 01/2019 YEAR: 2019 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025843 Current sheet thinning; Data-mining; Magnetotail dipolarization; Storm-substorm relationship; substorm current wedge; substorms; Van Allen Probes |
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Low-Energy ( The heavy ion component of the low-energy (eV to hundreds of eV) ion population in the inner magnetosphere, also known as the O+ torus, is a crucial population for various aspects of magnetospheric dynamics. Yet even though its existence has been known since the 1980s, its formation remains an open question. We present a comprehensive study of a low-energy ( Gkioulidou, Matina; Ohtani, S.; Ukhorskiy, A; Mitchell, D.; Takahashi, K.; Spence, H.; Wygant, J.; Kletzing, C.; Barnes, R.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 01/2019 YEAR: 2019 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025862 |
| 2018 |
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Energisation of the ring current by substorms The substorm process releases large amounts of energy into the magnetospheric system, although where the energy is transferred to and how it is partitioned remains an open question. In this study, we address whether the substorm process contributes a significant amount of energy to the ring current. The ring current is a highly variable region, and understanding the energisation processes provides valuable insight into how substorm - ring current coupling may contribute to the generation of storm conditions and provide a source of energy for wave driving. In order to quantify the energy input into the ring current during the substorm process, we analyse RBSPICE and HOPE ion flux measurements for H+, O+, and He+. The energy content of the ring current is estimated and binned spatially for L and MLT. The results are combined with an independently derived substorm event list to perform a statistical analysis of variations in the ring current energy content with substorm phase. We show that the ring current energy is significantly higher in the expansion phase compared to the growth phase, with the energy enhancement persisting into the substorm recovery phase. The characteristics of the energy enhancement suggest the injection of energised ions from the tail plasma sheet following substorm onset. The local time variations indicate a loss of energetic H+ ions in the afternoon sector, likely due to wave-particle interactions. Overall, we find that the average energy input into the ring current is \~9\% of the previously reported energy released during substorms. Sandhu, J.; Rae, I.; Freeman, M.; Forsyth, C.; Gkioulidou, M.; Reeves, G.; Spence, H.; Jackman, C.; Lam, M.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 09/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025766 BSPICE; HOPE; Magnetosphere; ring current; substorms; Van Allen Probes |
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The composition of plasma inside geostationary orbit based on Van Allen Probes observations The composition of the inner magnetosphere is of great importance for determining the plasma pressure, and thus the currents and magnetic field configuration. In this study, we perform a statistical survey of equatorial plasma pressure distributions and investigate the relative contributions of ions and electron with different energies inside of geostationary orbit under two AE levels based on over sixty months of observations from the HOPE and RBSPICE mass spectrometers on board Van Allen Probes. We find that the total and partial pressures of different species increase significantly at high AE levels with Hydrogen (H+) pressure being dominant in the plasmasphere. The pressures of the heavy ions and electrons increase outside the plasmapause and develop a strong dawn-dusk asymmetry with ion pressures peaking at dusk and electron pressure peaking at dawn. In addition, ring current H+ with energies ranging from 50 keV up to several hundred keV is the dominant component of plasma pressure during both quiet (> 90\%) and active times (> 60\%), while Oxygen (O+) with 10 < E < 50 keV and electrons with 0.1 < E < 40 keV become important during active times contributing more than 25\% and 20\% on the nightside, respectively, while the Helium (He+) contribution is generally small. The results presented in this study provide a global picture of the equatorial plasma pressure distributions and the associated contributions from different species with different energy ranges, which advance our knowledge of wave generation and provide models with a systematic baseline of plasma composition. Yue, Chao; Bortnik, Jacob; Li, Wen; Ma, Qianli; Gkioulidou, Matina; Reeves, Geoffrey; Wang, Chih-Ping; Thorne, Richard; T. Y. Lui, Anthony; Gerrard, Andrew; Spence, Harlan; Mitchell, Donald; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 07/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025344 ion composition; plasma pressure; Plasmapause; Van Allen Probes |
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Evidence of Microbursts Observed Near the Equatorial Plane in the Outer Van Allen Radiation Belt We present the first evidence of electron microbursts observed near the equatorial plane in Earth\textquoterights outer radiation belt. We observed the microbursts on March 31st, 2017 with the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer and RBSP Ion Composition Experiment on the Van Allen Probes. Microburst electrons with kinetic energies of 29-92 keV were scattered over a substantial range of pitch angles, and over time intervals of 150-500 ms. Furthermore, the microbursts arrived without dispersion in energy, indicating that they were recently scattered near the spacecraft. We have applied the relativistic theory of wave-particle resonant diffusion to the calculated phase space density, revealing that the observed transport of microburst electrons is not consistent with the hypothesized quasi-linear approximation. Shumko, Mykhaylo; Turner, Drew; O\textquoterightBrien, T.; Claudepierre, Seth; Sample, John; Hartley, D.; Fennell, Joseph; Blake, Bernard; Gkioulidou, Matina; Mitchell, Donald; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 07/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1029/2018GL078451 |
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Much of plasma heating and transport from the magnetotail into the inner magnetosphere occurs in the form of mesoscale discrete injections associated with sharp dipolarizations of magnetic field (dipolarization fronts). In this paper we investigate the role of magnetic trapping in acceleration and transport of the plasmasheet ions into the ring current. For this purpose we use high-resolution global MHD and three-dimensional test-particle simulations. It is shown that trapping, produced by sharp magnetic field gradients at the interface between dipolarizations and the ambient plasma, affect plasmasheet protons with energies above approximately 10 keV, enabling their transport across more than 10 Earth radii and acceleration by a factor of 10. Our estimates show that trapping is important to the buildup of the ring current plasma pressure of injected particles; depending on the plasmasheet temperature and energy spectrum, trapped protons can contribute between 20\% to 60\% of the plasma pressure. It is also shown that the acceleration process does not conserve the particle first invariant; on average protons are accelerated to higher energies compared to a purely adiabatic process. We also investigate how trapping and energization varies for deferent ions species and show that, in accordance with recent observations, ion acceleration is proportional to the ion charge and is independent of its mass. Ukhorskiy, A; Sorathia, K.; Merkin, V.; Sitnov, M.; Mitchell, D.; Gkioulidou, M.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 06/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025370 injections; plasma pressure; ring current; trapping; Van Allen Probes |
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Response of Different Ion Species to Local Magnetic Dipolarization Inside Geosynchronous Orbit This paper examines how hydrogen, helium and oxygen (H, He and O) ion fluxes at 1\textendash1000 keV typically respond to local magnetic dipolarization inside geosynchronous orbit (GEO). We extracted 144 dipolarizations which occurred at magnetic inclination > 30\textdegree from the 2012\textendash2016 tail seasons\textquoteright observations of the Van Allen Probes spacecraft and then defined typical flux changes of these ion species by performing a superposed epoch analysis. On average, the dipolarization inside GEO is accompanied by a precursory transient decrease in the northward magnetic field component, transient impulsive enhancement in the westward electric field component, and decrease (increase) in the proton density (temperature). The coincident ion species experience an energy-dependent flux change, consisting of enhancement (depression) at energies above (below) ~50 keV. These properties morphologically resemble those around dipolarization fronts (or fast flows) in the near-Earth tail. A distinction among the ion species is the average energy of the flux ratio peak, being at 200\textendash400 keV (100\textendash200 keV) for He (H and O) ions. The flux ratio peaks at different energies likely reflect the different charge states of injected ionospheric- and/or solar wind-origin ion species. The ion spectra become harder for sharp dipolarizations, suggesting the importance of accompanying electric field in transporting and/or energizing the ions efficiently. Interestingly, the average flux ratio peak does not differ significantly among the ion species for ~2 min after onset, which implies that mass-dependent acceleration process is less important in the initial stage of dipolarization. Motoba, T.; Ohtani, S.; Gkioulidou, M.; Ukhorskiy, A.; Mitchell, D.; Takahashi, K.; Lanzerotti, L.; Kletzing, C.; Spence, H.; Wygant, J.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 06/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025557 deep inside geosynchronous orbit; dipolarizations; Ion injections; ion species; Van Allen Probes |
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Spatial Development of the Dipolarization Region in the Inner Magnetosphere The present study examines dipolarization events observed by the Van Allen Probes within 5.8 RE from Earth. It is found that the probability of occurrence is significantly higher in the dusk-to-midnight sector than in the midnight-to-dawn sector, and it deceases sharply earthward. A comparison with observations made at nearby satellites shows that dipolarization signatures are often highly correlated (c.c. > 0.8) within 1 hr in MLT and 1 RE in RXY, and the dipolarization region expands earthward and westward in the dusk-to-midnight sector. The westward expansion velocity is estimated at 0.4 hr (in MLT) per minute, or 60 km/s, which is consistent with the previously reported result for geosynchronous dipolarization. The earthward expansion is apparently less systematic than the westward expansion. Its velocity is estimated at 50 km/s (0.5 RE/min), comparable to the westward expansion velocity, but it is suggested that the earthward expansion slows down as the dipolarization region approaches Earth, and it eventually stops. This idea is consistent with the earthward reduction of the occurrence probability of dipolarization events. Whereas this earthward expansion is difficult to explain with the conventional wedge current system, it may be understood in terms of a current system with two wedges, one with the R1 polarity outside and the other with the R2 polarity closer to Earth. For such a current system the region of dipolarization is confined in radial distance between the two wedge currents, and it is considered to expand earthward as the R2-sense wedge moves earthward along with injected plasma. Ohtani, S.; Motoba, T.; Gkioulidou, M.; Takahashi, K.; Singer, H.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 06/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1029/2018JA025443 Dipolarization; injection; inner magnetosphere; R1 and R2 currents; substorm current wedge; substorms; Van Allen Probes |
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The transport mechanism of the ring current ions differs among ion energies. Lower-energy (≲150 keV) ions are well known to be transported convectively. Higher-energy (≳150 keV) protons are reported to be transported diffusively, while there are few reports about transport of higher-energy oxygen ions. We report the radial transport of higher-energy oxygen ions into the deep inner magnetosphere during the late main phase of the magnetic storm on 23\textendash25 April 2013 observed by the Van Allen Probes spacecraft. An enhancement of 1\textendash100 mHz magnetic fluctuations is simultaneously observed. Observations of 3 and 30 mHz geomagnetic pulsations indicate the azimuthal mode number is <=10. The fluctuations can resonate with the drift and bounce motions of the oxygen ions. The results suggest that the combination of the drift and drift-bounce resonances is responsible for the radial transport of higher-energy oxygen ions. Mitani, K.; Seki, K.; Keika, K.; Gkioulidou, M.; Lanzerotti, L.; Mitchell, D.; Kletzing, C.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 05/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1029/2018GL077500 |
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We examine the spatiotemporal variations of the energy density and the energy spectral evolution of energetic ions in the inner magnetosphere during the main phase of the 17 March 2015 storm, using data from the RBSPICE and EMFISIS instruments onboard Van Allen Probes. The storm developed in response to two southward IMF intervals separated by about 3 h. In contrast to two steps seen in the Dst/SYM-H index, the ring current ion population evolved in three steps: the first subphase was apparently caused by the earlier southward IMF, and the subsequent subphases occurred during the later southward IMF period. Ion energy ranges that contribute to the ring current differed between the three subphases. We suggest that the spectral evolution resulted from the penetration of different plasma sheet populations. The ring current buildup during the first subphase was caused by the penetration of a relatively low-energy population that had existed in the plasma sheet during a prolonged prestorm northward IMF interval. The deeper penetration of the lower-energy population was responsible for the second subphase. The third subphase, where the storm was unexpectedly intensified to a Dst/SYM-H level of <-200 nT, was caused by the penetration of a hot, dense plasma sheet population. We attribute the hot, dense population to the entry of hot, dense solar wind into the plasma sheet and/or ion heating/acceleration in the near-Earth plasma sheet associated with magnetotail activity such as reconnection and dipolarization. Keika, Kunihiro; Seki, Kanako; e, Masahito; Miyoshi, Yoshizumi; Lanzerotti, Louis; Mitchell, Donald; Gkioulidou, Matina; Manweiler, Jerry; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 01/2018 YEAR: 2018 DOI: 10.1002/2017JA024462 enhancements of oxygen ions of ionospheric origin; plasma transport from the plasma sheet into the inner magnetosphere; RBSPICE; unexpected intensification of the magnetic storm; Van Allen Probes |
| 2017 |
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This study examines multipoint observations during a conjunction between MMS and Van Allen Probes on 07 April 2016 in which a series of energetic particle injections occurred. With complementary data from THEMIS, Geotail, and LANL-GEO (16 spacecraft in total), we develop new insights on the nature of energetic particle injections associated with substorm activity. Despite this case involving only weak substorm activity (max. AE < 300 nT) during quiet geomagnetic conditions in steady, below-average solar wind, a complex series of at least six different electron injections was observed throughout the system. Intriguingly, only one corresponding ion injection was clearly observed. All ion and electron injections were observed at < 600 keV only. MMS reveals detailed substructure within the largest electron injection. A relationship between injected electrons with energy < 60 keV and enhanced whistler-mode chorus wave activity is also established from Van Allen Probes and MMS. Drift mapping using a simplified magnetic field model provides estimates of the dispersionless injection boundary locations as a function of universal time, magnetic local time, and L-shell. The analysis reveals that at least five electron injections, which were localized in magnetic local time, preceded a larger injection of both electrons and ions across nearly the entire nightside of the magnetosphere near geosynchronous orbit. The larger, ion and electron injection did not penetrate to L < 6.6, but several of the smaller, electron injections penetrated to L < 6.6. Due to the discrepancy between the number, penetration depth, and complexity of electron vs. ion injections, this event presents challenges to the current conceptual models of energetic particle injections. Turner, D.; Fennell, J.; Blake, J.; Claudepierre, S.; Clemmons, J.; Jaynes, A.; Leonard, T.; Baker, D.; Cohen, I.; Gkioulidou, M.; Ukhorskiy, A; Mauk, B.; Gabrielse, C.; Angelopoulos, V.; Strangeway, R.; Kletzing, C.; Le Contel, O.; Spence, H.; Torbert, R.; Burch, J.; Reeves, G.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 09/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2017JA024554 energetic particles; injections; inner magnetosphere; plasma sheet; substorms; Van Allen Probes; wave-particle interactions |
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Understanding the source and loss processes of various plasma populations is greatly aided by having accurate knowledge of their pitch angle distributions (PADs). Here, we statistically analyze ~1 eV to 600 keV hydrogen (H+) PADs near the geomagnetic equator in the inner magnetosphere based on Van Allen Probes measurements, to comprehensively investigate how the H+ PADs vary with different energies, magnetic local times (MLTs), L-shells, and geomagnetic conditions. Our survey clearly indicates four distinct populations with different PADs: (1) a pancake distribution of the plasmaspheric H+ at low L-shells except for dawn sector; (2) a bi-directional field-aligned distribution of the warm plasma cloak; (3) pancake or isotropic distributions of ring current H+; (4) radiation belt particles show pancake, butterfly and isotropic distributions depending on their energy, MLT and L-shell. Meanwhile, the pancake distribution of ring current H+ moves to lower energies as L-shell increases which is primarily caused by adiabatic transport. Furthermore, energetic H+ (> 10 keV) PADs become more isotropic following the substorm injections, indicating wave-particle interactions. The radiation belt H+ butterfly distributions are identified in a narrow energy range of 100 < E < 400 keV at large L (L > 5), which are less significant during quiet times and extend from dusk to dawn sector through midnight during substorms. The different PADs near the equator provide clues of the underlying physical processes that produce the dynamics of these different populations. Yue, Chao; Bortnik, Jacob; Thorne, Richard; Ma, Qianli; An, Xin; Chappell, C.; Gerrard, Andrew; Lanzerotti, Louis; Shi, Quanqi; Reeves, Geoffrey; Spence, Harlan; Mitchell, Donald; Gkioulidou, Matina; Kletzing, Craig; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 08/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2017JA024421 bi-directional field-aligned; H+ Pitch angle distributions; plasmaspheric H+; radiation belt H+; ring current; Van Allen Probes; warm Plasma cloak |
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Ion acceleration at dipolarization fronts in the inner magnetosphere During geomagnetic storms plasma pressure in the inner magnetosphere is controlled by energetic ions of tens to hundreds of keV. Plasma pressure is the source of global storm time currents, which control the distribution of magnetic field and couple the inner magnetosphere and the ionosphere. Recent analysis showed that the buildup of hot ion population in the inner magnetosphere largely occurs in the form of localized discrete injections associated with sharp dipolarizations of magnetic field, similar to dipolarization fronts in the magnetotail. Because of significant differences between the ambient magnetic field and the dipolarization front properties in the magnetotail and the inner magnetosphere, the physical mechanisms of ion acceleration at dipolarization fronts in these two regions may also be different. In this paper we discuss a new acceleration mechanism enabled by stable trapping of ions at the azimuthally localized dipolarization fronts. It is shown that trapping can provide a robust mechanism of ion energization in the inner magnetosphere even in the absence of large electric fields. Ukhorskiy, A; Sitnov, M.; Merkin, V.; Gkioulidou, M.; Mitchell, D.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 03/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2016JA023304 |
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Using observations from NASA\textquoterights Van Allen Probes, we study the role of sudden particle enhancements at low L shells (SPELLS) as a source of inner radiation belt electrons. SPELLS events are characterized by electron intensity enhancements of approximately an order of magnitude or more in less than 1 day at L < 3. During quiet and average geomagnetic conditions, the phase space density radial distributions for fixed first and second adiabatic invariants are peaked at 2 < L < 3 for electrons ranging in energy from ~50 keV to ~1 MeV, indicating that slow inward radial diffusion is not the dominant source of inner belt electrons under quiet/average conditions. During SPELLS events, the evolution of electron distributions reveals an enhancement of phase space density that can exceed 3 orders of magnitude in the slot region and continues into the inner radiation belt, which is evidence that these events are an important\textemdashand potentially dominant\textemdashsource of inner belt electrons. Electron fluxes from September 2012 through February 2016 reveal that SPELLS occur frequently (~2.5/month at 200 keV), but the number of observed events decreases exponentially with increasing electron energy for >=100 keV. After SPELLS events, the slot region reforms due to slow energy-dependent decay over several day time scales, consistent with losses due to interactions with plasmaspheric hiss. Combined, these results indicate that the peaked phase space density distributions in the inner electron radiation belt result from an \textquotedbllefton/off,\textquotedblright geomagnetic-activity-dependent source from higher radial distances. Turner, D.; O\textquoterightBrien, T.; Fennell, J.; Claudepierre, S.; Blake, J.; Jaynes, A.; Baker, D.; Kaneka, S.; Gkioulidou, M.; Henderson, M.; Reeves, G.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 01/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1029/1999JA900445 energetic particle injections; inner magnetosphere; Radiation belts; relativistic electrons; Van Allen Probes |
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Acceleration at Dipolarization Fronts in the Inner Magnetosphere During geomagnetic storms plasma pressure in the inner magnetosphere is controlled by energetic ions of tens to hundreds keV. Plasma pressure is the source of global storm-time currents, which control the distribution of magnetic field and couple the inner magnetosphere and the ionosphere. Recent analysis showed that the buildup of hot ion population in the inner magnetosphere largely occurs in the form of localized discrete injections associated with sharp dipolarizations of magnetic field, similar to dipolarization fronts in the magnetotail. Because of significant differences between the ambient magnetic field and the dipolarization front properties in the magnetotail and the inner magnetosphere, the physical mechanisms of ion acceleration at dipolarization fronts in these two regions may also be different. In this paper we discuss a new acceleration mechanism enabled by stable trapping of ions at the azimuthally localized dipolarization fronts. It is shown that trapping can provide a robust mechanism of ion energization in the inner magnetosphere even in the absence of large electric fields. Ukhorskiy, A; Sitnov, M.; Merkin, V.; Gkioulidou, M.; Mitchell, D.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 01/2017 YEAR: 2017 DOI: 10.1002/2016ja023304 |
| 2016 |
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Using observations from NASA\textquoterights Van Allen Probes, we study the role of sudden particle enhancements at low L-shells (SPELLS) as a source of inner radiation belt electrons. SPELLS events are characterized by electron intensity enhancements of approximately an order of magnitude or more in less than one day at L < 3. During quiet and average geomagnetic conditions, the phase space density radial distributions for fixed first and second adiabatic invariants are peaked at 2 < L < 3 for electrons ranging in energy from ~50 keV to ~1 MeV, indicating that slow inward radial diffusion is not the dominant source of inner belt electrons under quiet/average conditions. During SPELLS events, the evolution of electron distributions reveals an enhancement of phase space density that can exceed three orders of magnitude in the slot region and continues into the inner radiation belt, which is evidence that these events are an important - and potentially dominant - source of inner belt electrons. Electron fluxes from September 2012 through February 2016 reveal that SPELLS occur frequently (~2.5/month at 200 keV), but the number of observed events decreases exponentially with increasing electron energy for >=100 keV. After SPELLS events, the slot region reforms due to slow energy-dependent decay over several day timescales, consistent with losses due to interactions with plasmaspheric hiss. Combined, these results indicate that the peaked phase space density distributions in the inner electron radiation belt result from an \textquotedbllefton/off\textquotedblright, geomagnetic-activity-dependent source from higher radial distances. Turner, D.; O\textquoterightBrien, T.; Fennell, J.; Claudepierre, S.; Blake, J.; Jaynes, A.; Baker, D.; Kanekal, S.; Gkioulidou, M.; Henderson, M.; Reeves, G.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 12/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016JA023600 2720 Energetic Particles; trapped; 2730 Magnetosphere: inner; 2774 Radiation belts; 7807 Charged particle motion and acceleration; 7984 Space radiation environment; energetic particle injections; inner magnetosphere; Radiation belts; relativistic electrons; Van Allen Probes |
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Void structure of O + ions in the inner magnetosphere observed by the Van Allen Probes The Van Allen Probes Helium Oxygen Proton Electron instrument observed a new type of enhancement of O+ ions in the inner magnetosphere during substorms. As the satellite moved outward in the premidnight sector, the flux of the O+ ions with energy ~10 keV appeared first in the energy-time spectrograms. Then, the enhancement of the flux spread toward high and low energies. The enhanced flux of the O+ ions with the highest energy remained, whereas the flux of the ions with lower energy vanished near apogee, forming what we call the void structure. The structure cannot be found in the H+ spectrogram. We studied the generation mechanism of this structure by using numerical simulation. We traced the trajectories of O+ ions in the electric and magnetic fields from the global magnetohydrodynamics simulation and calculated the flux of O+ ions in the inner magnetosphere in accordance with the Liouville theorem. The simulated spectrograms are well consistent with the ones observed by Van Allen Probes. We suggest the following processes. (1) When magnetic reconnection starts, an intensive equatorward and tailward plasma flow appears in the plasma lobe. (2) The flow transports plasma from the lobe to the plasma sheet where the radius of curvature of the magnetic field line is small. (3) The intensive dawn-dusk electric field transports the O+ ions earthward and accelerates them nonadiabatically to an energy threshold; (4) the void structure appears at energies below the threshold. Nakayama, Y.; Ebihara, Y.; Ohtani, S.; Gkioulidou, M.; Takahashi, K.; Kistler, L.; Tanaka, T.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 11/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016JA023013 injections; nonadiabatic acceleration; substorms; Van Allen Probes |
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The permeability of the magnetopause to a multispecies substorm injection of energetic particles Leakage of ions from the magnetosphere into the magnetosheath remains an important topic in understanding the plasma physics of Earth\textquoterights magnetopause and the interaction of the solar wind with the magnetosphere. Here using sophisticated instrumentation from two spacecraft (Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment on the Van Allen Probes and Energetic Ion Spectrometer on the Magnetospheric Multiscale) spaced uniquely near and outside the dayside magnetopause, we are able to determine the escape mechanisms for large gyroradii oxygen ions and much smaller gyroradii hydrogen and helium ions. The oxygen ions are entrained on the magnetosphere boundary, while the hydrogen and helium ions appear to escape along reconnected field lines. These results have important implications for not only Earth\textquoterights magnetosphere but also other solar system magnetospheres. Westlake, J.; Cohen, I.; Mauk, B.; Anderson, B.; Mitchell, D.; Gkioulidou, M.; Walsh, B.; Lanzerotti, L.; Strangeway, R.; Russell, C.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 09/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016GL070189 energetic particles; magnetopause; magnetosheath; MMSEPD; Van Allen Probes |
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Plasma kinetic theory predicts that a sufficiently anisotropic electron distribution will excite whistler mode waves, which in turn relax the electron distribution in such a way as to create an upper bound on the relaxed electron anisotropy. Here using whistler mode chorus wave and plasma measurements by Van Allen Probes, we confirm that the electron distributions are well constrained by this instability to a marginally stable state in the whistler mode chorus waves generation region. Lower band chorus waves are organized by the electron β||e into two distinct groups: (i) relatively large-amplitude, quasi-parallel waves with inline image and (ii) relatively small-amplitude, oblique waves with inline image. The upper band chorus waves also have enhanced amplitudes close to the instability threshold, with large-amplitude waves being quasi-parallel whereas small-amplitude waves being oblique. These results provide important insight for studying the excitation of whistler mode chorus waves. Yue, Chao; An, Xin; Bortnik, Jacob; Ma, Qianli; Li, Wen; Thorne, Richard; Reeves, Geoffrey; Gkioulidou, Matina; Mitchell, Donald; Kletzing, Craig; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 08/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016GL070084 beta parallel; electron temperature anisotropy; marginally stable state; oblique waves; quasi-parallel waves; Van Allen Probes; whistler mode chorus waves |
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We examine enhancements of energetic (>50 keV) oxygen ions observed by the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) instrument on board the Van Allen Probes spacecraft in the inner magnetosphere (L ~ 6) at 22\textendash23 h magnetic local time (MLT) during an injection event of the 6 June 2013 storm. Simultaneous observations by two Van Allen Probes spacecraft located close together (~0.5 RE) indicate that particle injections occurred in the premidnight sector (< ~24 h MLT). We also examine the evolution of the proton and oxygen energy spectra at L ~ 6 during the injection event. The spectral slope did not significantly change during the storm. The oxygen phase space density (PSD) was shifted toward higher PSD in a wide range of the first adiabatic invariant. The spectral evolution manifests the characteristics of adiabatic acceleration and density increase of oxygen ions. Warm (0.1\textendash10 keV) oxygen measured by the Helium, Oxygen, Proton, and Electron (HOPE) instrument was enhanced prior to the storm mostly in magnetic field-aligned directions. The most reasonable scenario of this event is that warm oxygen ions that preexisted in the inner magnetosphere were picked up and adiabatically transported and accelerated by spatially localized, temporarily impulsive electric fields. Keika, Kunihiro; Seki, Kanako; e, Masahito; Machida, Shinobu; Miyoshi, Yoshizumi; Lanzerotti, Louis; Mitchell, Donald; Gkioulidou, Matina; Turner, Drew; Spence, Harlan; Larsen, Brian; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 08/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016JA022384 adiabatic transport from the plasma sheet; oxygen ions of ionospheric origin; preconditions of magnetic storms; preexisting oxygen ions trapped in the inner magnetosphere; Van Allen Probes; Van Allen Probes RBSPICE observations |
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The Source of O + in the Storm-time Ring Current A stretched and compressed geomagnetic field occurred during the main phase of a geomagnetic storm on 1 June 2013. During the storm the Van Allen Probes spacecraft made measurements of the plasma sheet boundary layer, and observed large fluxes of O+ ions streaming up the field line from the nightside auroral region. Prior to the storm main phase there was an increase in the hot (>1 keV) and more isotropic O+ions in the plasma sheet. In the spacecraft inbound pass through the ring current region during the storm main phase, the H+ and O+ ions were significantly enhanced. We show that this enhanced inner magnetosphere ring current population is due to the inward adiabatic convection of the plasma sheet ion population. The energy range of the O+ ion plasma sheet that impacts the ring current most is found to be from ~5 to 60 keV. This is in the energy range of the hot population that increased prior to the start of the storm main phase, and the ion fluxes in this energy range only increase slightly during the extended outflow time interval. Thus, the auroral outflow does not have a significant impact on the ring current during the main phase. The auroral outflow is transported to the inner magnetosphere, but does not reach high enough energies to affect the energy density. We conclude that the more energetic O+ that entered the plasma sheet prior to the main phase and that dominates the ring current is likely from the cusp. Kistler, L.M.; Mouikis, C.; Spence, H.E.; Menz, A.M.; Skoug, R.M.; Funsten, H.O.; Larsen, B.A.; Mitchell, D.G.; Gkioulidou, M.; Wygant, J.R.; Lanzerotti, L.J.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 05/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2015JA022204 Geomagnetic storm; Ionosphere; oxygen; plasma sheet; Plasma Sources; ring current; Van Allen Probes |
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Our investigation of the long-term ring current proton pressure evolution in Earth\textquoterights inner magnetosphere based on Van Allen Probes data shows drastically different behavior of the low- and high- energy components of the ring current proton population with respect to theSYM-H index variation. We found that while the low-energy component of the protons (<80 keV) is strongly governed by convective timescales and is very well correlated with the absolute value of SYM-H index, the high-energy component (>100 keV) varies on much longer timescales and shows either no correlation or anticorrelation with the absolute value of SYM-H index. Our study also shows that the contributions of the low- and high- energy protons to the inner magnetosphere energy content are comparable. Thus, our results conclusively demonstrate that proton dynamics, and as a result the energy budget in the inner magnetosphere, do not vary strictly on storm time timescales as those are defined by the SYM-H index. Gkioulidou, Matina; Ukhorskiy, A.; Mitchell, D.; Lanzerotti, L.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 05/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016GL068013 energy budget; Geomagnetic storms; inner magnetosphere; ring current; Van Allen Probes |
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Our investigation of the long-term ring current proton pressure evolution in Earth\textquoterights inner magnetosphere based on Van Allen Probes data shows drastically different behavior of the low- and high- energy components of the ring current proton population with respect to the Sym-H index variation. We found that while the low-energy component of the protons (<80 keV) is strongly governed by convective timescales and is very well correlated with the absolute value of Sym-H index, the high-energy component (>100 keV) varies on much longer timescales and shows either no or anti-correlation with the absolute value of Sym-H index. Our study also shows that the contributions of the low- and high- energy protons to the inner magnetosphere energy content are comparable. Thus, our results conclusively demonstrate that proton dynamics, and as a result the energy budget in the inner magnetosphere, do not vary strictly on storm-time timescales as those are defined by the Sym-H index. Gkioulidou, Matina; Ukhorskiy, A.; Mitchell, D.; Lanzerotti, L.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 03/2016 YEAR: 2016 DOI: 10.1002/2016GL068013 energy budget; Geomagnetic storms; inner magnetosphere; ring current; Van Allen Probes |
| 2015 |
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Although most studies of the effects of EMIC waves on Earth\textquoterights outer radiation belt have focused on events in the afternoon sector in the outer plasmasphere or plume region, strong magnetospheric compressions provide an additional stimulus for EMIC wave generation across a large range of local times and L shells. We present here observations of the effects of a wave event on February 23, 2014 that extended over 8 hours in UT and over 12 hours in local time, stimulated by a gradual 4-hour rise and subsequent sharp increases in solar wind pressure. Large-amplitude linearly polarized hydrogen band EMIC waves (up to 25 nT p-p) appeared for over 4 hours at both Van Allen Probes, from late morning through local noon, when these spacecraft were outside the plasmapause, with densities ~5-20 cm-3. Waves were also observed by ground-based induction magnetometers in Antarctica (near dawn), Finland (near local noon), Russia (in the afternoon), and in Canada (from dusk to midnight). Ten passes of NOAA-POES and METOP satellites near the northern footpoint of the Van Allen Probes observed 30-80 keV subauroral proton precipitation, often over extended L shell ranges; other passes identified a narrow L-shell region of precipitation over Canada. Observations of relativistic electrons by the Van Allen Probes showed that the fluxes of more field-aligned and more energetic radiation belt electrons were reduced in response to both the emission over Canada and the more spatially extended emission associated with the compression, confirming the effectiveness of EMIC-induced loss processes for this event. Engebretson, M.; Posch, J.; Wygant, J.; Kletzing, C.; Lessard, M.; Huang, C.-L.; Spence, H.; Smith, C.; Singer, H.; Omura, Y.; Horne, R.; Reeves, G.; Baker, D.; Gkioulidou, M.; Oksavik, K.; Mann, I.; Raita, T; Shiokawa, K.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 06/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2015JA021227 EMIC waves; magnetospheric compressions; Radiation belts; Van Allen Probes |
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Using the Van Allen Probes we investigate the enhancement in the large scale duskward convection electric field during the geomagnetic storm (Dst ~ -120 nT) on June 1, 2013 and its role in ring current ion transport and energization, and plasmasphere erosion. During this storm, enhancements of ~1-2 mV/m in the duskward electric field in the co-rotating frame are observed down to L shells as low as ~2.3. A simple model consisting of a dipole magnetic field and constant, azimuthally westward, electric field is used to calculate the earthward and westward drift of 90\textdegree pitch angle ions. This model is applied to determine how far earthward ions can drift while remaining on Earth\textquoterights night side, given the strength and duration of the convection electric field. The calculation based on this simple model indicates that the enhanced duskward electric field is of sufficient intensity and duration to transport ions from a range of initial locations and initial energies characteristic of (though not observed by the Van Allen Probes) the earthward edge of the plasma sheet during active times ( L ~ 6\textendash10 and ~1-20 keV) to the observed location of the 58\textendash267 keV ion population, chosen as representative of the ring current (L ~3.5 \textendash 5.8). According to the model calculation, this transportation should be concurrent with an energization to the range observed, ~58-267 keV. Clear coincidence between the electric field enhancement and both plasmasphere erosion and ring current ion (58\textendash267 keV) pressure enhancements are presented. We show for the first time, nearly simultaneous enhancements in the duskward convection electric field, plasmasphere erosion, and increased pressure of 58\textendash267 keV ring current ions. These 58\textendash267 keV ions have energies that are consistent with what they are expected to pick up by gradient B drifting across the electric field. These observations strongly suggest that we are observing the electric field that energizes the ions and produces the erosion of the plasmasphere. Thaller, S.; Wygant, J.; Dai, L.; Breneman, A.W.; Kersten, K.; Cattell, C.A.; Bonnell, J.W.; Fennell, J.F.; Gkioulidou, Matina; Kletzing, C.A.; De Pascuale, S.; Hospodarsky, G.B.; Bounds, S.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 05/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020875 electric field; inner magnetosphere; plasma convection; plasmasphere; ring current; Van Allen Probes |
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The Balloon Array for Radiation belt Relativistic Electron Losses (BARREL) mission of opportunity working in tandem with the Van Allen Probes was designed to study the loss of radiation belt electrons to the ionosphere and upper atmosphere. BARREL is also sensitive to X-rays from other sources. During the second BARREL campaign the Sun produced an X-class flare followed by a solar energetic particle event (SEP) associated with the same active region. Two days later on 9 January 2014 the shock generated by the coronal mass ejection (CME) originating from the active region hit the Earth while BARREL was in a close conjunction with the Van Allen Probes. Time History Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) observed the impact of the ICME-shock near the magnetopause, and the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) satellites were on either side of the BARREL/Van Allen Probe array. The solar interplanetary magnetic field was not ideally oriented to cause a significant geomagnetic storm, but compression from the shock impact led to the loss of radiation belt electrons. We propose that an azimuthal electric field impulse generated by magnetopause compression caused inward electron transport and minimal loss. This process also drove chorus waves, which were responsible for most of the precipitation observed outside the plasmapause. Observations of hiss inside the plasmapause explains the absence of loss at this location. ULF waves were found to be correlated withthe structure of the precipitation. We demonstrate how BARREL can monitor precipitation following a ICME-shock impact at Earth in a cradle-to-grave view; from flare, to SEP, to electron precipitation. Halford, A.; McGregor, S.; Murphy, K.; Millan, R.; Hudson, M.; Woodger, L.; Cattel, C.; Breneman, A.; Mann, I.; Kurth, W.; Hospodarsky, G.; Gkioulidou, M.; Fennell, J.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 03/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020873 |
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We report, for the first time, an auroral undulation event on 1 May 2013 observed by an all-sky imager (ASI) at Athabasca (L = 4.6), Canada, for which in situ field and particle measurements in the conjugate magnetosphere were available from a Van Allen Probes spacecraft. The ASI observed a train of auroral undulation structures emerging spontaneously in the pre-midnight subauroral ionosphere, during the growth phase of a substorm. The undulations had an azimuthal wavelength of ~180 km and propagated westward at a speed of 3\textendash4 km s-1. The successive passage over an observing point yielded quasi-periodic oscillations in diffuse auroral emissions with a period of ~40 s. The azimuthal wave number m of the auroral luminosity oscillations was found to be m ~ -103. During the event the spacecraft \textendash being on tailward stretched field lines ~0.5 RE outside the plasmapause that mapped into the ionosphere conjugate to the auroral undulations \textendash encountered intense poloidal ULF oscillations in the magnetic and electric fields. We identify the field oscillations to be the second harmonic mode along the magnetic field line through comparisons of the observed wave properties with theoretical predictions. The field oscillations were accompanied by oscillations in proton and electron fluxes. Most interestingly, both field and particle oscillations at the spacecraft had one-to-one association with the auroral luminosity oscillations around its footprint. Our findings strongly suggest that this auroral undulation event is closely linked to the generation of second harmonic poloidal waves Motoba, T.; Takahashi, K.; Ukhorskiy, A.; Gkioulidou, M.; Mitchell, D.; Lanzerotti, L.; Korotova, G.; Donovan, E.; Wygant, J.; Kletzing, C.; Kurth, W.; Blake, J.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 02/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020863 |
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Recent results by the Van Allen Probes mission showed that the occurrence of energetic ion injections inside geosynchronous orbit could be very frequent throughout the main phase of a geomagnetic storm. Understanding, therefore, the formation and evolution of energetic particle injections is critical in order to quantify their effect in the inner magnetosphere. We present a case study of a substorm event that occurred during a weak storm (Dst ~ - 40 nT) on 14 July 2013. Van Allen Probe B, inside geosynchronous orbit, observed two energetic proton injections within ten minutes, with different dipolarization signatures and duration. The first one is a dispersionless, short timescale injection pulse accompanied by a sharp dipolarization signature, while the second one is a dispersed, longer timescale injection pulse accompanied by a gradual dipolarization signature. We combined ground magnetometer data from various stations, and in-situ particle and magnetic field data from multiple satellites in the inner magnetosphere and near-Earth plasma sheet to determine the spatial extent of these injections, their temporal evolution, and their effects in the inner magnetosphere. Our results indicate that there are different spatial and temporal scales at which injections can occur in the inner magnetosphere and depict the necessity of multipoint observations of both particle and magnetic field data in order to determine these scales. Gkioulidou, Matina; Ohtani, S.; Mitchell, D.; Ukhorskiy, A.; Reeves, G.; Turner, D.; Gjerloev, J.; e, Nos\; Koga, K.; Rodriguez, J.; Lanzerotti, L.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 02/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020872 |
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On the use of drift echoes to characterize on-orbit sensor discrepancies We describe a method for using drift echo signatures in on-orbit data to resolve discrepancies between different measurements of particle flux. The drift period has a well-defined energy dependence, which gives rise to time dispersion of the echoes. The dispersion can then be used to determine the effective energy for one or more channels given each channel\textquoterights drift period and the known energy for a reference channel. We demonstrate this technique on multiple instruments from the Van Allen probes mission. Drift echoes are only easily observed at high energies (100s keV to multiple MeV), where several drift periods occur before the observing satellite has moved on or the global magnetic conditions have changed. We describe a first-order correction for spacecraft motion. The drift echo technique has provided a significant clue in resolving substantial flux discrepancies between two instruments measuring fluxes near 2 MeV. O\textquoterightBrien, T.P.; Claudepierre, S.G.; Looper, M.D.; Blake, J.B.; Fennell, J.F.; Clemmons, J.H.; Roeder, J.L.; Kanekal, S.G.; Manweiler, J.W.; Mitchell, D.G.; Gkioulidou, M.; Lanzerotti, L.J.; Spence, H.E.; Reeves, G.D.; Baker, D.N.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 02/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020859 |
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Energetic electron injections deep into the inner magnetosphere associated with substorm activity From a survey of the first nightside season of NASA\textquoterights Van Allen Probes mission (Dec/2012 \textendash Sep/2013), 47 energetic (10s to 100s of keV) electron injection events were found at L-shells <= 4, all of which are deeper than any previously reported substorm-related injections. Preliminary details from these events are presented, including how: all occurred shortly after dipolarization signatures and injections were observed at higher L-shells; the deepest observed injection was at L~2.5; and, surprisingly, L<=4 injections are limited in energy to <=250 keV. We present a detailed case study of one example event revealing that the injection of electrons down to L~3.5 was different from injections observed at higher L and likely resulted from drift resonance with a fast magnetosonic wave in the Pi 2 frequency range inside the plasmasphere. These observations demonstrate that injections occur at very low L-shells and may play an important role for inner zone electrons. Turner, D.; Claudepierre, S.; Fennell, J.; O\textquoterightBrien, T.; Blake, J.; Lemon, C.; Gkioulidou, M.; Takahashi, K.; Reeves, G.; Thaller, S.; Breneman, A.; Wygant, J.; Li, W.; Runov, A.; Angelopoulos, V.; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 02/2015 YEAR: 2015 DOI: 10.1002/2015GL063225 energetic particle injections; inner magnetosphere; Radiation belts; substorms; THEMIS; Van Allen Probes |
| 2014 |
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H-ion (~45-keV to ~600-keV), He-ion (~65-keV to ~520-keV), and O-ion (~140-keV to ~1130-keV) integral flux measurements, from the Radiation Belt Storm Probe Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) instrument aboard the Van Allan Probes spacecraft B, are reported. These abundance data form a cohesive picture of ring current ions during the first nine months of measurements. Furthermore, the data presented herein are used to show injection characteristics via the He-ion/H-ion abundance ratio and the O-ion/H-ion abundance ratio. Of unique interest to ring current dynamics are the spatial-temporal decay characteristics of the two injected populations. We observe that He-ions decay more quickly at lower L-shells, on the orderof ~0.8-day at L-shells of 3\textendash4, and decay more slowly with higher L-shell, on the order of ~1.7-days at L-shells of 5\textendash6. Conversely, O-ions decay very rapidly (~1.5-hours) across all L-shells. The He-ion decay time are consistent with previously measured and calculated lifetimes associated with charge exchange. The O-ion decay time is much faster than predicted and is attributed to the inclusion of higher energy (>500-keV) O-ions in our decay rate estimation. We note that these measurements demonstrate a compelling need for calculation of high energy O-ion loss rates, which have not been adequately studied in the literature to date. Gerrard, Andrew; Lanzerotti, Louis; Gkioulidou, Matina; Mitchell, Donald; Manweiler, Jerry; Bortnik, Jacob; Keika, Kunihiro; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 11/2014 YEAR: 2014 DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020374 inner magnetosphere; ion decay rates; Spacecraft measurements; Van Allen Probes |
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Energetic particle transport into the inner magnetosphere during geomagnetic storms is responsible for significant plasma pressure enhancement, which is the driver of large-scale currents that control the global electrodynamics within the magnetosphere-ionosphere system. Therefore, understanding the transport of plasma from the tail deep into the near-Earth magnetosphere, as well as the energization processes associated with this transport, is essential for a comprehensive knowledge of the near-Earth space environment. During the main phase of a geomagnetic storm on March 17th 2013 (minimum Dst ~ -137 nT), the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) instrument on the Van Allen Probes observed frequent, small-scale proton injections deep into the inner nightside magnetosphere in the region L ~ 4 \textendash 6. Although isolated injections have been previously reported inside geosynchronous orbit, the large number of small-scale injections observed in this event suggests that, during geomagnetic storms injections provide a robust mechanism for transporting energetic ions deep into the inner magnetosphere. In order to understand the role that these injections play in the ring current dynamics, we determine the following properties for each injection: i) associated pressure enhancement, ii) the time duration of this enhancement, iii) and the lowest and highest energy channels exhibiting a sharp increase in their intensities. Based on these properties, we estimate the effect of these small-scale injections on the pressure buildup during the storm. We find that this mode of transport could make a substantial contribution to the total energy gain in the storm-time inner magnetosphere. Gkioulidou, Matina; Ukhorskiy, A.; Mitchell, D.; Sotirelis, T.; Mauk, B.; Lanzerotti, L.; Published by: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics Published on: 09/2014 YEAR: 2014 DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020096 Geomagnetic storms; Ion injections; ring current; Van Allen Probes |
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He ions contribute to Earth\textquoterights ring current energy and species population density and are important in understanding ion transport and charge exchange processes in the inner magnetosphere. He ion flux measurements made by the Van Allen Probes Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) instrument are presented in this paper. Particular focus is centered on geomagnetically quiet intervals in late 2012 and 2013 that show the flux, L-shell, and energy (65 keV to 518 keV) morphology of ring current He ions between geomagnetic storm injection events. The overall He ion abundance during the first nine months of RBSPICE observations, the appearance of a persistent high energy, low L-shell He ion population, and the temporal evolution of this population all provide new insights into trapped ring current energy He ions. These data provide a unique resource that will be used to provide verifications of, and improvements to, models of He ion transport and loss in Earth\textquoterights ring current region. Gerrard, Andrew; Lanzerotti, Louis; Gkioulidou, Matina; Mitchell, Donald; Manweiler, Jerry; Bortnik, Jacob; Published by: Geophysical Research Letters Published on: 02/2014 YEAR: 2014 DOI: 10.1002/2013GL059175 |
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