skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Title: Comparing Influences of Solar Wind, ULF Waves, and Substorms on 20 eV–2 MeV Electron Flux (RBSP) Using ARMAX Models
Abstract Electron fluxes (20 eV–2 MeV, RBSP‐A satellite) show reasonable simple correlation with a variety of parameters (solar wind, IMF, substorms, ultralow frequency (ULF) waves, geomagnetic indices) over L‐shells 2–6. Removing correlation‐inflating common cycles and trends (using autoregressive and moving average terms in an ARMAX analysis) results in a 10 times reduction in apparent association between drivers and electron flux, although many are still statistically significant (p < 0.05). Corrected influences are highest in the 20 eV–1 keV and 1–2 MeV electrons, more modest in the midrange (2–40 keV). Solar wind velocity and pressure (but not number density), IMF magnitude (with lower influence ofBz), SME (a substorm measure), a ULF wave index, and geomagnetic indices Kp and SymH all show statistically significant associations with electron flux in the corrected individual ARMAX analyses. We postulate that only pressure, ULF waves, and substorms are direct drivers of electron flux and compare their influences in a combined analysis. SME is the strongest influence of these three, mainly in the eV and MeV electrons. ULF is most influential on the MeV electrons. Pressure shows a smaller positive influence and some indication of either magnetopause shadowing or simply compression on the eV electrons. While strictly predictive models may improve forecasting ability by including indirect driver and proxy parameters, and while these models may be made more parsimonious by choosing not to explicitly model time series behavior, our present analyses include time series variables in order to draw valid conclusions about the physical influences of exogenous parameters.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2246912
PAR ID:
10589824
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Volume:
129
Issue:
6
ISSN:
2169-9380
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Abstract Regression models (LEEMYR: Low Energy Electron MLT geosYnchronous orbit Regression) predict hourly 4.1–30 keV electron flux at geostationary orbit (GOES‐16) using solar wind, IMF, and geomagnetic index parameters. Multiplicative interaction and polynomial terms describe synergistic and nonlinear effects. We reduce predictors to an optimal set using stepwise regression, resulting in models with validation comparable to a neural network. Models predict 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 hr into the future. Validation correlations are as high as 0.78 (4.1 and 11 keV, 1 hr prediction) and Heidke Skill scores (HSS) up to 0.66. A 3 hr ahead prediction is more practical, with slightly lower validation correlation (0.75) and HSS (0.61). The addition of location (MLT: magnetic local time) as a covariate, including multiplicative interaction terms, accounts for location‐dependent flux differences and variation of parameter influence, and allows prediction over the full orbit. Adding a substorm index (SME) provides minimal increase in validation correlation (0.81) showing that other parameters are good proxies for an unavailable real time substorm index. Prediction intervals on individual values provide more accurate assessments of model quality than confidence intervals on the mean values. An inverse N‐weighted least squares approach is impractical as it increases false positive warnings. Physical interpretations are not possible as spurious correlations due to common cycles are not removed. However,SME, Bz, Kp, and Dst are the highest correlates of electron flux, with solar wind velocity, density, and pressure, and IMF magnitude being less well correlated. 
    more » « less
  2. Abstract Certain forms of solar wind transients contain significant enhancements of dynamic pressure and may effectively drive magnetosphere dynamics, including substorms and storms. An integral element of such driving is the generation of a wide range of electromagnetic waves within the inner magnetosphere, either by compressionally heated plasma or by substorm plasma sheet injections. Consequently, solar wind transient impacts are traditionally associated with energetic electron scattering and losses into the atmosphere by electromagnetic waves. In this study, we show the first direct measurements of two such transient‐driven precipitation events as measured by the low‐altitude Electron Losses and Fields Investigation CubeSats. The first event demonstrates storm‐time generated electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves efficiently precipitating sub‐relativistic and relativistic electrons from >300 keV to 2 MeV at the duskside. The second event demonstrates whistler‐mode waves leading to scattering of electrons from 50 to 700 keV on the dawnside. These observations confirm the importance of solar wind transients in driving energetic electron losses and subsequent dynamics in the ionosphere. 
    more » « less
  3. Abstract Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) data show that seed electrons generated by sub‐storm injections play a role in amplifying chorus waves in the magnetosphere. The wave‐particle interaction leads to rapid heating and acceleration of electrons from 10's of keV to 10's of MeV energies. In this work, we examined the changes in the radiation belt during geomagnetic storm events by studying the RBSP REPT, solar wind, AL, SML, and Dst data in conjunction with the WINDMI model of the magnetosphere. The field‐aligned current output from the model is integrated to generate a proxy E index for various energy bands. These E indices track electron energization from 40 KeV to 20 MeV in the radiation belts. The indices are compared to RBSP data and GOES data. Our proxy indices correspond well to the energization data for electron energy bands between 1.8 and 7.7 MeV. Each E index has a unique empirical loss rate term (τL), an empirical time delay term (τD), and a gain value, that are fit to the observations. These empirical parameters were adjusted to examine the delay and charging rates associated with different energy bands. We observed that theτLandτDvalues are clustered for each energy band.τLandτDconsistently increase going from 1.8 to 7.7 MeV in electron energy fluxEeand the dropout interval increases with increasing energy level. The average trend of ΔτD/ΔEewas 4.1 hr/MeV and the average trend of ΔτL/ΔEewas 2.82 hr/MeV. 
    more » « less
  4. Abstract We perform a comprehensive investigation of the statistical distribution of outer belt electron acceleration events over energies from 300 keV to ∼10 MeV regardless of storm activity using 6‐years of observations from Van Allen Probes. We find that the statistical properties of acceleration events are consistent with the characteristic energies of combined local acceleration by chorus waves and inward radial diffusion. While electron acceleration events frequently occur both at <2 MeV atL < 4.0 and at multi‐MeV atL > 4.5, significant acceleration events are confined toL > ∼4.0. By performing superposed epoch analysis of acceleration events during storm and non/weak storm events and comparing their geomagnetic conditions, we reveal the strong correlation (>0.8) between accumulated impacts of substorms as measured by time‐integrated AL (Int(AL)) and the upper flux limit of electron acceleration. While intense storms can provide favorable conditions for efficient acceleration, they are not necessarily required to produce large maximum fluxes. 
    more » « less
  5. Abstract While whistler‐mode waves are generated by injected anisotropic electrons on the nightside, the observed day‐night asymmetry of wave distributions raises an intriguing question about their generation on the dayside. In this study, we evaluate the distributions of whistler‐mode wave amplitudes and electrons as a function of distance from the magnetopause (MP) on the dayside from 6 to 18 hr in magnetic local time (MLT) within ±18° of magnetic latitude using the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interaction During Substorms measurements from June 2010 to August 2018. Specifically, under different levels of solar wind dynamic pressure and geomagnetic index, we conduct a statistical analysis to examine whistler‐mode wave amplitude, as well as anisotropy and phase space density (PSD) of source electrons across 1–20 keV energies, which potentially provide a source of free energy for wave generation. In coordinates relative to the MP, we find that lower‐band (0.05–0.5fce) waves occur much closer to the MP than upper‐band (0.5–0.8fce) waves, wherefceis electron cyclotron frequency. Our statistical results reveal that strong waves are associated with high anisotropy and high PSD of source electrons near the equator, indicating a preferred region for local wave generation on the dayside. Over 10–14 hr in MLT, as latitude increases, electron anisotropy decreases, while whistler‐mode wave amplitudes increase, suggesting that wave propagation from the equator to higher latitudes, along with amplification along the propagation path, is necessary to explain the observed waves on the dayside. 
    more » « less