Open AccessUp to 1‐hour forecasting of radiation hazards from solar energetic ion events with relativistic electrons
Author(s) -
Posner Arik
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
space weather
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.254
H-Index - 56
ISSN - 1542-7390
DOI - 10.1029/2006sw000268
Subject(s) - electron , physics , proton , solar flare , computational physics , flare , solar energetic particles , space weather , ion , space environment , coronal mass ejection , atomic physics , nuclear physics , astrophysics , solar wind , plasma , meteorology , astronomy , quantum mechanics
The sudden and prompt occurrence of solar energetic particle events poses a hazard to manned space activities and interferes with robotic space science missions. This study demonstrates the possibility of short‐term forecasting of the appearance and intensity of solar ion events by means of relativistic, near–light speed electrons. A list of the most severe proton events measured by GOES 8 in the years 1996–2002 serves as a basis to derive the fundamentals of the forecasting method with statistical and superposed epoch techniques. The Comprehensive Suprathermal and Energetic Particle Analyzer (COSTEP) on SOHO provides relativistic electron and <50 MeV proton observations at 1 AU. With a subset of solar particle events (SPEs) where the location of the associated flare on the Sun has been determined, we find that (1) relativistic electrons always arrive at 1 AU ahead of nonrelativistic SPEs allowing their forecasting; (2) the intensity increase of both, electrons and protons alike, depends on the magnetic connection, i.e., the magnetic longitude difference between the observer and the flare; and (3) as coming from one source under near‐identical propagation conditions, significant correlations exist that show that the early electron intensity and increase can be utilized as a matrix to forecast the upcoming proton intensity. The study demonstrates one initial empirical forecasting technique with electron and proton observations in 2003.