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Two Exceptions in the Large SEP Events of Solar Cycles 23 and 24We discuss our findings from a survey of all large solar energetic particle (SEP) events of Solar Cycles 23 and 24, i.e. the SEP events where the intensity of greater than 10 megaelectronvolts protons observed by GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) was greater than 10 proton flux units. In our previous work (Gopalswamy et al. in Geophys.Res.Lett. 41, 2673, 2014) we suggested that ground level enhancements (GLEs) in Cycles 23 and 24 also produce an intensity increase in the GOES greater than 700 megaelectronvolts proton channel. Our survey, now extended to include all large SEP events of Cycle 23, confirms this to be true for all but two events: i) the GLE of 6 May 1998 (GLE57) for which GOES did not observe enhancement in greater than 700 megaelectronvolts protons intensities and ii) a high-energy SEP event of 8 November 2000, for which GOES observed greater than 700 megaelectronvolts protons but no GLE was recorded. Here we discuss these two exceptions. We compare GLE57 with other small GLEs, and the 8 November 2000 SEP event with those that showed similar intensity increases in the GOES greater than 700 megaelectronvolts protons but produced GLEs. We find that, because GOES greater than 700 megaelectronvolts proton intensity enhancements are typically small for small GLEs, they are difficult to discern near solar minima due to higher background. Our results also support that GLEs are generally observed when shocks of the associated coronal mass ejections (CMEs) form at heights 1.2-1.93 solar radii [R (sub solar)] and when the solar particle release occurs between 2-6 solar radii [R (sub solar)]. Our secondary findings support the view that the nose region of the CME-shock may be accelerating the first-arriving GLE particles and the observation of a GLE is also dependent on the latitudinal connectivity of the observer to the CME-shock nose. We conclude that the GOES greater than 700 megaelectronvolts proton channel can be used as an indicator of GLEs excluding some rare exceptions, such as those discussed here.
Document ID
20170003089
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Thakur, N.
(Catholic Univ. of America Washington, DC, United States)
Gopalswamy, N.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Makela, P.
(Catholic Univ. of America Washington, DC, United States)
Akiyama, S.
(Catholic Univ. of America Washington, DC, United States)
Yashiro, S.
(Catholic Univ. of America Washington, DC, United States)
Xie, H.
(Catholic Univ. of America Washington, DC, United States)
Date Acquired
April 6, 2017
Publication Date
March 2, 2016
Publication Information
Publication: Solar Physics
Publisher: Springer
Volume: 291
Issue: 2
ISSN: 0038-0938
e-ISSN: 1573-093X
Subject Category
Solar Physics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN41081
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG11PL10A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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