LASP Magnetosphere Seminars

Abstract

The SAMPEX mission, which launched in 1992 and lasted till 2012, provided two decades of energetic particle measurements from low Earth orbit.  While data from NASA’s Van Allen Probes mission has been the focus of many recent radiation belt studies, SAMPEX produced a fantastic database to explore the statistical properties of radiation belt electron precipitation and loss to Earth’s atmosphere.  Here we revisit the high time resolution MeV electron measurements from the HILT instrument to examine the nature and extent of electron precipitation as well as what electromagnetic waves might be causing it.  In particular, we focus on rapid sub-second precipitation, termed microbursts.  In this talk I’ll highlight some of our recent findings, led primarily by CU undergraduate students, exploring the detailed properties of microburst precipitation, how these compare to whistler mode wave properties in the inner magnetosphere, as well as some unexpected findings of microbursts from the inner radiation belt.  These studies improve our understanding of the relationship between whistler mode waves, energetic electron precipitation, and global radiation belt dynamics.