Contemporaneous EMIC and whistler mode waves: Observations and consequences for MeV electron loss

Abstract

AbstractThe high variability of relativistic (MeV) electron fluxes in the Earth's radiation belts is partly controlled by loss processes involving resonant interactions with electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) and whistler mode waves. But as previous statistical models were generated independently for each wave mode, whether simultaneous electron scattering by the two wave types has global importance remains an open question. Using >3 years of simultaneous Van Allen Probes and THEMIS measurements, we explore the contemporaneous presence of EMIC and whistler mode waves in the same L shell, albeit at different local times, determining the distribution of wave and plasma parameters as a function of L, Kp, and AE. We derive electron lifetimes from observations and provide the first statistics of combined effects of EMIC and whistler mode wave scattering on MeV electrons as a function of L and geomagnetic activity. We show that MeV electron lifetimes are often strongly reduced by such combined scattering.