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Highly Relativistic Radiation Belt Electron Acceleration, Transport, and Loss: Large Solar Storm Events of March and June 2015Two of the largest geomagnetic storms of the last decade were witnessed in 2015. On 17 March 2015, a coronal mass ejection-driven event occurred with a Dst (Disturbance Storm Time Ring Current Index) value reaching 223 nanoteslas. On 22 June 2015 another strong storm (Dst reaching 204 nanoteslas) was recorded. These two storms each produced almost total loss of radiation belt high-energy (E (Energy) greater than or approximately equal to 1 millielectronvolt) electron fluxes. Following the dropouts of radiation belt fluxes there were complex and rather remarkable recoveries of the electrons extending up to nearly 10 millielectronvolts in kinetic energy. The energized outer zone electrons showed a rich variety of pitch angle features including strong butterfly distributions with deep minima in flux at alpha equals 90 degrees. However, despite strong driving of outer zone earthward radial diffusion in these storms, the previously reported impenetrable barrier at L (L-shell magnetic field line value) approximately equal to 2.8 was pushed inward, but not significantly breached, and no E (Energy) greater than or approximately equal to 2.0 millielectronvolts electrons were seen to pass through the radiation belt slot region to reach the inner Van Allen zone. Overall, these intense storms show a wealth of novel features of acceleration, transport, and loss that are demonstrated in the present detailed analysis.
Document ID
20170002739
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Baker, D. N.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Jaynes, A. N.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Kanekal, S. G.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Foster, J.C.
(Northeast Radio Observatory Corp. Westford, MA, United States)
Erickson, P. J.
(Northeast Radio Observatory Corp. Westford, MA, United States)
Fennell, Joseph
(Aerospace Corp. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Blake, J. B.
(Aerospace Corp. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Zhao, H.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Li, X.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Elkington, S. R.
(Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Henderson, M. G.
(Los Alamos National Lab. NM, United States)
Reeves, G.
(Los Alamos National Lab. NM, United States)
Spence, H.
(New Hampshire Univ. Durham, NH, United States)
Kletzing, C. A.
(Iowa Univ. Iowa City, IA, United States)
Wygant, J. R.
(Minnesota Univ. Minneapolis, MN, United States)
Date Acquired
March 31, 2017
Publication Date
July 26, 2016
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics
Publisher: American Geophysical Union
Volume: 121
Issue: 7
ISSN: 2169-9380
e-ISSN: 2169-9402
Subject Category
Solar Physics
Geophysics
Space Radiation
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN40770
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: JHU-APL-967399
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-01072
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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