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The effects of geomagnetic storms on electrons in Earth's radiation belts
Author(s) -
Turner D. L.,
O'Brien T. P.,
Fennell J. F.,
Claudepierre S. G.,
Blake J. B.,
Kilpua E. K. J.,
Hietala H.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2015gl064747
Subject(s) - van allen radiation belt , geomagnetic storm , electron , physics , magnetosphere , van allen probes , storm , flux (metallurgy) , earth's magnetic field , atomic physics , geophysics , range (aeronautics) , atmospheric sciences , solar wind , plasma , nuclear physics , magnetic field , meteorology , materials science , quantum mechanics , metallurgy , composite material
We use Van Allen Probes data to investigate the responses of tens of keV to 2 MeV electrons throughout a broad range of the radiation belts (2.5 ≤ L ≤ 6.0) during 52 geomagnetic storms from the most recent solar maximum. Electron storm time responses are highly dependent on both electron energy and L shell. Tens of keV electrons typically have peak fluxes in the inner belt or near‐Earth plasma sheet and fill the inner magnetosphere during storm main phases. Approximately 100 to ~600 keV electrons are enhanced in up to 87% of cases around L ~3.7, and their peak flux location moves to lower L shells during storm recovery phases. Relativistic electrons (≥~1 MeV) are nearly equally likely to produce enhancement, depletion, and no‐change events in the outer belt. We also show that the L shell of peak flux correlates to storm magnitude only for hundreds of keV electrons.