Investigation of EMIC wave scattering as the cause for the BARREL 17 January 2013 relativistic electron precipitation event: A quantitative comparison of simulation with observations

Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves were observed at multiple observatory locations for several hours on 17 January 2013. During the wave activity period, a duskside relativistic electron precipitation (REP) event was observed by one of the Balloon Array for Radiation belt Relativistic Electr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 2014-12, Vol.41 (24), p.8722-8729
Main Authors: Li, Zan, Millan, Robyn M., Hudson, Mary K., Woodger, Leslie A., Smith, David M., Chen, Yue, Friedel, Reiner, Rodriguez, Juan V., Engebretson, Mark J., Goldstein, Jerry, Fennell, Joseph F., Spence, Harlan E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmospheric precipitations
Balloon observations
Balloons
BARREL
Computer simulation
Conjugates
Cyclotrons
Diffusion
Dye dispersion
Electron precipitation
EMIC waves
Energy
Energy distribution
GEOSCIENCES
GOES
GOES satellites
Instruments
Interactions
Locations (working)
Meteorological satellites
Onboard
Pitch (inclination)
pitch angle diffusion
Precipitation
Probes
Quantitative analysis
Radiation
RBSP
Relativism
relativistic electron precipitation
Satellites
Sensors
Simulation
Wave scattering
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves were observed at multiple observatory locations for several hours on 17 January 2013. During the wave activity period, a duskside relativistic electron precipitation (REP) event was observed by one of the Balloon Array for Radiation belt Relativistic Electron Losses (BARREL) balloons and was magnetically mapped close to Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) 13. We simulate the relativistic electron pitch angle diffusion caused by gyroresonant interactions with EMIC waves using wave and particle data measured by multiple instruments on board GOES 13 and the Van Allen Probes. We show that the count rate, the energy distribution, and the time variation of the simulated precipitation all agree very well with the balloon observations, suggesting that EMIC wave scattering was likely the cause for the precipitation event. The event reported here is the first balloon REP event with closely conjugate EMIC wave observations, and our study employs the most detailed quantitative analysis on the link of EMIC waves with observed REP to date. Key PointsQuantitative analysis of the first balloon REP with closely conjugate EMIC wavesOur simulation suggests EMIC waves to be a viable cause for the REP eventThe adopted model is proved to be applicable to simulating the REP event
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1002/2014GL062273