Prediction Model of the Outer Radiation Belt Developed by Chungbuk National University

The Earth’s outer radiation belt often suffers from drastic changes in the electron fluxes. Since the electrons can be a\udpotential threat to satellites, efforts have long been made to model and predict electron flux variations. In this paper, we\uddescribe a prediction model for the outer belt electrons that we have recently developed at Chungbuk National University.\udThe model is based on a one-dimensional radial diffusion equation with observationally determined specifications of a\udfew major ingredients in the following way. First, the boundary condition of the outer edge of the outer belt is specified by\udempirical functions that we determine using the THEMIS satellite observations of energetic electrons near the boundary.\udSecond, the plasmapause locations are specified by empirical functions that we determine using the electron density data\udof THEMIS. Third, the model incorporates the local acceleration effect by chorus waves into the one-dimensional radial\uddiffusion equation. We determine this chorus acceleration effect by first obtaining an empirical formula of chorus intensity\udas a function of drift shell parameter L*, incorporating it as a source term in the one-dimensional diffusion equation, and\udlastly calibrating the term to best agree with observations of a certain interval. We present a comparison of the model run\udresults with and without the chorus acceleration effect, demonstrating that the chorus effect has been incorporated into the\udmodel to a reasonable degree