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Energetic Electron Precipitation Observed by FIREBIRD‐II Potentially Driven by EMIC Waves: Location, Extent, and Energy Range From a Multievent Analysis
Author(s) -
Capannolo L.,
Li W.,
Spence H.,
Johnson A. T.,
Shumko M.,
Sample J.,
Klumpar D.
Publication year - 2021
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 - 10.1029/2020gl091564
Subject(s) - electron precipitation , emic and etic , physics , precipitation , van allen probes , range (aeronautics) , van allen radiation belt , electron , polar , astrophysics , cyclotron , ion , atmospheric sciences , geophysics , magnetosphere , astronomy , meteorology , nuclear physics , materials science , plasma , quantum mechanics , sociology , anthropology , composite material
We evaluate the location, extent, and energy range of electron precipitation driven by ElectroMagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) waves using coordinated multisatellite observations from near‐equatorial and Low‐Earth‐Orbit (LEO) missions. Electron precipitation was analyzed using the Focused Investigations of Relativistic Electron Burst Intensity, Range and Dynamics (FIREBIRD‐II) CubeSats, in conjunction either with typical EMIC‐driven precipitation signatures observed by Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES) or with in situ EMIC wave observations from Van Allen Probes. The multievent analysis shows that electron precipitation occurred in a broad region near dusk (16–23 MLT), mostly confined to 3.5–7.5 L‐shells. Each precipitation event occurred on localized radial scales, on average ∼0.3 L. Most importantly, FIREBIRD‐II recorded electron precipitation from ∼200 to 300 keV to the expected ∼MeV energies for most cases, suggesting that EMIC waves can efficiently scatter a wide energy range of electrons.