<title>Operational uses of the GOES energetic particle detectors</title>

Abstract

A central mission of the GOES space environment monitor program is to provide continuous, real-time monitoring of the near-Earth space environment. The GOES energetic particle sensor (EPS) and high energy proton and alpha detector (HEPAD) obtain measurements of the energetic electron, proton, and alpha particle fluxes at geosynchronous orbit. These measurements serve as the basis for a variety of services that are provided to numerous government and private organizations, including the forecasting of adverse conditions, providing a characterization of the current conditions in the Earth's environment, and providing the necessary measurements to allow comprehensive post-event analyses. Numerous products are derived from the GEOS EPS measurements and made available to industry, government agencies, and research institutions throughout the world. The particle fluxes in the Earth's environment are comprised of three main components: 1) particles trapped within the geomagnetic field, 2) particles of a more direct solar origin, and 3) a cosmic ray background. These particle fluxes are quite dynamic, varying on times-scales ranging from seconds to decades. In this paper, we describe the GOES-8 and GOES-9 EPS and HEPAD instruments and the operational uses of the energetic particle measurements made at geosynchronous orbit.