Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites Research Articles

On the Origin of STEVE: Particle Precipitation or Ionospheric Skyglow?

AbstractOne of the recent developments in ionospheric research was the introduction of a subauroral spectacle called STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement). Although STEVE has been documented by amateur night sky watchers for decades, it is an exciting new upper atmospheric phenomenon for the scientific community. Observed first by amateur auroral photographers, STEVE appeared as a narrow luminous structure across the night sky. Currently, only one scientific study has focused on STEVE, revealing that it corresponds to a narrow (tens of kilometers in north‐south extent) and long (thousands of kilometers in east‐west direction) structure located in the subauroral region. An important and fundamental question that arises from this study is the origin of STEVE; more specifically, does STEVE correspond to a new ionospheric phenomenon or is it due to particle precipitation? In this letter, we analyze a STEVE event on 28 March 2008 observed by Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) ground‐based All‐Sky Imagers and a Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES). The POES‐17 satellite crossed STEVE at the center of the All‐Sky Imager field‐of‐view, allowing us to collect particle data simultaneously. These concurrent measurements show that STEVE might not be associated with particle precipitation (electrons or ions). Therefore, this event suggests that STEVE's skyglow (which we defined to be unrelated to aurora or airglow) could be generated in the ionosphere.

The Impact of Energetic Particle Precipitation on Mesospheric OH – Variability of the Sources and the Background Atmosphere

AbstractUsing a new analysis technique, we estimate the precipitating particle fluxes measured by the Medium Energy Proton and Electron Detector on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites. These fluxes are used to quantify the direct impact of energetic particle precipitation (EPP) on mesospheric hydroxyl (OH) measured from the Aura satellite during 2005–2009 in the Northern Hemisphere, covering the declining and minimum phase of solar cycle 23. Using multiple linear regression of nighttime OH volume mixing ratio with temperature, geopotential height, water vapor (H2O) volume mixing ratio, Lyman‐alpha (Ly‐α) radiation, and particle energy deposition, we account for the background variability and hence the EPP impact independent of season and other short‐term variability. We investigate the relative importance of solar proton events, energetic electron precipitation and the background to OH variability. The background dominates over EPP above 70‐km altitude. Below 70 km, EPP dominates. The maximum EPP contribution is 44% and 34% in the geographic and corrected geomagnetic (CGM) settings respectively at 67 km. Protons dominate over electrons at mesospheric altitudes with maximum contributions of 43% and 32% at 67 km in the geographic and CGM settings, respectively. In a CGM setting, the electrons contribution is comparable to that of protons above 70 km, with a maximum contribution of 11% at 75 km. Since the period investigated is during relatively low solar activity, these results represent a lower estimate of the general EPP contribution to OH variability.

Inter-satellite calibration of FengYun 3 medium energy electron fluxes with POES electron measurements

We perform an L-shell dependent inter-satellite calibration of FengYun 3 medium energy electron measurements with POES measurements based on rough orbital conjunctions within 5 min × 0.1 L × 0.5 MLT. By comparing electron flux data between the U.S. Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES) and Chinese sun-synchronoussatellites including FY-3B and FY-3C for a whole year of 2014, we attempt to remove less reliable data and evaluate systematic uncertainties associated with the FY-3B and FY-3C datasets, expecting to quantify the inter-satellite calibration factors for the 150–350 keV energy channel at L = 2–7. Compared to the POES data, the FY-3B and FY-3C data generally exhibit a similar trend of electron flux variations but more or less underestimate them within a factor of 5 for the medium electron energy 150–350 keV channel. Good consistency in the flux conjunctions after the inter-calibration procedures gives us certain confidence to generalize our method to calibrate electron flux measurements from various satellite instruments.

A Statistical Study of the Spatial Extent of Relativistic Electron Precipitation With Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites

AbstractRelativistic electron precipitation (REP) in the atmosphere can contribute significantly to electron loss from the outer radiation belts. In order to estimate the contribution to this loss, it is important to estimate the spatial extent of the precipitation region. We observed REP with the zenith pointing (0°) Medium Energy Proton Electron Detector (MEPED) on board Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES), for 15 years (2000–2014) and used both single‐satellite and multisatellite measurements to estimate an average extent of the region of precipitation in L shell and magnetic local time (MLT). In the duration of 15 years (2000–2014), 31,035 REP events were found in this study. Events were found to split into two classes; one class of events coincided with proton precipitation in the P1 channel (30–80 keV), were located in the dusk and early morning sector, and were more localized in L shell (dL < 0.5), whereas the other class of events did not coincide with proton precipitation, were located mostly in the midnight sector, and were wider in L shell (dL ∼ 1–2.5). Both classes were highly localized in MLT (dMLT ≤ 3 h), occurring mostly during the declining phase of the solar cycle and geomagnetically active times. The events located in the midnight sector for both classes were found to be associated with tail magnetic field stretching which could be due to the fact that they tend to occur mostly during geomagnetically active times or could imply that precipitation is caused by current sheet scattering.

Empirical radiation belt models: Comparison with in situ data and implications for environment definition

AbstractThe empirical AP8/AE8 model has been the de facto Earth's radiation belts engineering reference for decades. The need from the community for a better model incubated the development of AP9/AE9/SPM, which addresses several shortcomings of the old model. We provide additional validation of AP9/AE9 by comparing in situ electron and proton data from Jason‐2, Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES), and the Van Allen Probes spacecraft with the 5th, 50th, and 95th percentiles from AE9/AP9 and with the model outputs from AE8/AP8. The relatively short duration of Van Allen Probes and Jason‐2 missions means that their measurements are most certainly the result of specific climatological conditions. In low Earth orbit (LEO), the Jason‐2 proton flux is better reproduced by AP8 compared to AP9, while the POES electron data are well enveloped by AE9 5th and 95th percentiles. The shape of the South Atlantic anomaly (SAA) from Jason‐2 data is better captured by AP9 compared to AP8, while the peak SAA flux is better reproduced by AP8. The <1.5 MeV inner belt electrons from Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS) are well enveloped by AE9 5th and 95th percentiles, while AE8 overpredicts the measurements. In the outer radiation belt, MagEIS and Relativistic Electron and Proton Telescope (REPT) electrons closely follow the median estimate from AE9, while AP9 5th and 95th percentiles generally envelope REPT proton measurements in the inner belt and slot regions. While AE9/AP9 offer the flexibility to specify the environment with different confidence levels, the dose and trapped proton peak flux for POES and Jason‐2 trajectories from the AE9/AP9 50th percentile and above are larger than the estimates from the AE8/AP8 models.

Direct and indirect electron precipitation effect on nitric oxide in the polar middle atmosphere, using a full‐range energy spectrum

AbstractIn April 2010, a coronal mass ejection and a corotating interaction region on the Sun resulted in an energetic electron precipitation event in the Earth's atmosphere. We investigate direct and indirect nitric oxide (NO) response to the electron precipitation. By combining electron fluxes from the Total Energy Detector and the Medium Energy Proton and Electron Detector on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Polar‐orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites, we obtain a continuous energy spectrum covering 1–750 keV. This corresponds to electrons depositing their energy at atmospheric altitudes 60–120 km. Based on the electron energy deposition, taking into account loss due to photolysis, the accumulated NO number density is estimated. When compared to NO measured at these altitudes by the Solar Occultation for Ice Experiment instrument on board the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere satellite, the NO direct effect was detected down to 55 km. The main variability at these altitudes is, however, dominated by the indirect effect, which is downward transported NO. We estimate the source of this descending NO to be in the upper mesosphere at ∼75–90 km.

Nighttime mesospheric hydroxyl enhancements during SEP events and accompanying geomagnetic storms: Ionization rate modeling and Aura satellite observations

AbstractWe quantify the effects of combined precipitating solar protons and magnetospheric electrons on nighttime odd hydrogen density enhancements during two solar energetic particle (SEP) events accompanied by strong geomagnetic storms. We perform detailed modeling of ionization rates for 7–17 November 2004 and 20–30 August 2005 intervals with improved version 1.6 of the Atmospheric Ionization Module Osnabrück model. Particle measurements from Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites and Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites are sorted and combined in 2 h intervals to create realistic particle precipitation maps that are used as the modeling input. We show that modeled atmospheric ionization rates and estimated peak odd hydrogen (primarily hydroxyl) production from 0.001 hPa to 0.1 hPa atmospheric pressure levels during these intervals are consistent with enhancements in nighttime averaged zonal odd hydrogen densities derived from newly reprocessed and improved data set of Microwave Limb Sounder instrument on board Aura satellite. We show that both precipitating SEPs and magnetospheric electrons contribute to mesospheric ionization and their relative contributions change throughout the intervals. Our event‐based modeling results underline the importance of the combined ionization sources for odd hydrogen chemistry in the middle atmosphere.

Confirmation of EMIC wave‐driven relativistic electron precipitation

AbstractElectromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves are believed to be an important source of pitch angle scattering driven relativistic electron loss from the radiation belts. To date, investigations of this precipitation have been largely theoretical in nature, limited to calculations of precipitation characteristics based on wave observations and small‐scale studies. Large‐scale investigation of EMIC wave‐driven electron precipitation has been hindered by a lack of combined wave and precipitation measurements. Analysis of electron flux data from the POES (Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites) spacecraft has been suggested as a means of investigating EMIC wave‐driven electron precipitation characteristics, using a precipitation signature particular to EMIC waves. Until now the lack of supporting wave measurements for these POES‐detected precipitation events has resulted in uncertainty regarding the driver of the precipitation. In this paper we complete a statistical study comparing POES precipitation measurements with wave data from several ground‐based search coil magnetometers; we further present a case study examining the global nature of this precipitation. We show that a significant proportion of the precipitation events correspond with EMIC wave detections on the ground; for precipitation events that occur directly over the magnetometers, this detection rate can be as high as 90%. Our results demonstrate that the precipitation region is often stationary in magnetic local time, narrow in L, and close to the expected plasmapause position. Predominantly, the precipitation is associated with helium band rising tone Pc1 waves on the ground. The success of this study proves the viability of POES precipitation data for investigating EMIC wave‐driven electron precipitation.

Space Weather impact on the degradation of NOAA POES MEPED proton detectors

The Medium Energy Proton and Electron Detector (MEPED) on board the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (NOAA POES) is known to degrade with time. In recent years a lot of effort has been put into calibrating the degraded proton detectors. We make use of previous work and show that the degradation of the detectors can be attributed to the radiation dose of each individual instrument. However, the effectiveness of the radiation in degrading the detector is modulated when it is weighted by the mean $\textit{ap}$ index, increasing the degradation rate in periods with high geomagnetic activity, and decreasing it through periods of low activity. When taking $\textit{ap}$ and the radiation dose into account, we find that the degradation rate is independent of spacecraft and detector pointing direction. We have developed a model to estimate the correction factor for all the MEPED detectors as a function of accumulated corrected flux and the $\textit{ap}$ index. We apply the routine to NOAA POES spacecraft starting with NOAA-15, including the European satellites MetOp-02 and MetOp-01, and estimate correction factors.

Magnetospheric conditions near the equatorial footpoints of proton isotropy boundaries

Abstract. Data from a cluster of three THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) spacecraft during February–March 2009 frequently provide an opportunity to construct local data-adaptive magnetospheric models, which are suitable for the accurate mapping along the magnetic field lines at distances of 6–9 Re in the nightside magnetosphere. This allows us to map the isotropy boundaries (IBs) of 30 and 80 keV protons observed by low-altitude NOAA POES (Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites) to the equatorial magnetosphere (to find the projected isotropy boundary, PIB) and study the magnetospheric conditions, particularly to evaluate the ratio KIB (Rc/rc; the magnetic field curvature radius to the particle gyroradius) in the neutral sheet at that point. Special care is taken to control the factors which influence the accuracy of the adaptive models and mapping. Data indicate that better accuracy of an adaptive model is achieved when the PIB distance from the closest spacecraft is as small as 1–2 Re. For this group of most accurate predictions, the spread of KIB values is still large (from 4 to 32), with the median value KIB ~13 being larger than the critical value Kcr ~ 8 expected at the inner boundary of nonadiabatic angular scattering in the current sheet. It appears that two different mechanisms may contribute to form the isotropy boundary. The group with K ~ [4,12] is most likely formed by current sheet scattering, whereas the group having KIB ~ [12,32] could be formed by the resonant scattering of low-energy protons by the electromagnetic ion-cyclotron (EMIC) waves. The energy dependence of the upper K limit and close proximity of the latter event to the plasmapause locations support this conclusion. We also discuss other reasons why the K ~ 8 criterion for isotropization may fail to work, as well as a possible relationship between the two scattering mechanisms.

Dynamics of the ring current and ion fluxes at low altitudes during the February 27–28, 2014 magnetic storm

A comparative analysis has been performed for the dynamics of the ring current and ion fluxes at low altitudes during the February 27, 2014 geomagnetic storm. We use concurrent experimental data on ion fluxes with an energy of ~30 to 250 keV in the near-equatorial magnetospheric region at altitudes up to 30000 km from the Van Allen Probes satellite and at a polar orbit up to 1000 km from the Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES). The main phase of the storm was characterized by increased ion fluxes with E 100 keV, both near the ring current and in the low-orbit equatorial region, reflecting the fact that the particle spectrum of the ring current in the main phase of the storm becomes softed. The observed phenomenon may originate from the precipitation of ring-current particles registered by POES below the isotropization boundary. It was shown that the variations in ion fluxes at low orbit during the geomagnetic storm generally reflect the ring current dynamics, although each region under consideration has its own specific features complementing the general pattern of the Earth’s magnetosphere dynamics.

Operational surface UV radiation product from GOME-2 and AVHRR/3 data

Abstract. The surface ultraviolet (UV) radiation product, version 1.20, generated operationally in the framework of the Satellite Application Facility on Ozone and Atmospheric Chemistry Monitoring (O3M SAF) of the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) is described. The product is based on the total ozone column derived from the measurements of the second Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME-2) instrument aboard EUMETSAT's polar orbiting meteorological operational (Metop) satellites. Cloud cover is taken into account by retrieving cloud optical depth from the channel 1 reflectance of the third Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR/3) instrument aboard both Metop in the morning orbit and Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the afternoon orbit. In addition, more overpasses are used at high latitudes where the swaths of consecutive orbits overlap. The input satellite data are received from EUMETSAT's Multicast Distribution System (EUMETCast). The surface UV product includes daily maximum dose rates and integrated daily doses with different biological weighting functions, integrated ultraviolet B (UVB) and ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation, solar noon UV index and daily maximum photolysis frequencies of ozone and nitrogen dioxide at the surface level. The quantities are computed in a 0.5°×0.5° regular latitude–longitude grid and stored as daily files in the hierarchical data format (HDF5) within 2 weeks from sensing. The product files are archived in the O3M SAF distributed archive and can be ordered via the EUMETSAT Data Centre.

Analysis of plasmaspheric hiss wave amplitudes inferred from low‐altitude POES electron data: Validation with conjunctive Van Allen Probes observations

AbstractPlasmaspheric hiss plays an important role in controlling the overall structure and dynamics of the Earth's radiation belts. The interaction of plasmaspheric hiss with radiation belt electrons is commonly evaluated using diffusion codes, which rely on statistical models of wave observations that may not accurately reproduce the instantaneous global wave distribution or the limited in situ satellite wave measurements. This paper evaluates the performance and limitations of a novel technique capable of inferring wave amplitudes from low‐altitude electron flux observations from the Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES), which provide extensive coverage in shell and magnetic local time (MLT). We found that, within its limitations, this technique could potentially be used to build a dynamic global model of the plasmaspheric hiss wave intensity. The technique is validated by analyzing the conjunctions between the POES spacecraft and the Van Allen Probes from September 2012 to June 2014. The technique performs well for moderate‐to‐strong hiss activity (≥30 pT) with sufficiently high electron fluxes. The main source of these limitations is the number of counts of energetic electrons measured by the POES spacecraft capable of resonating with hiss waves. For moderate‐to‐strong hiss events, the results show that the wave amplitudes from the EMFISIS instruments on board the Van Allen Probes are well reproduced by the POES technique, which provides more consistent estimates than the parameterized statistical hiss wave model based on CRRES data.

Using Polar‐orbiting Environmental Satellite data to specify the radiation environment up to 1200 km altitude

AbstractData from the Deal dosimeter payload on the Rapid Pathfinder satellite provide daily maps of the radiation environment on a sphere at 1200 km altitude. Through the use of magnetic coordinates, these dosimeter maps can be projected down to lower altitudes, providing valuable information for satellite anomaly resolution for vehicles in low Earth orbit (LEO). Unfortunately, the Deal data are not widely available, and the mission has a limited lifetime. As an alternative, we present a method to estimate the Deal daily maps using belt index data from NOAA's Polar‐orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES) vehicles. The method addresses only trapped radiation but could readily be supplemented with POES's own measurements of solar particle radiation reaching LEO.

A case study of electron precipitation fluxes due to plasmaspheric hiss

AbstractWe find that during a large geomagnetic storm in October 2011 the trapped fluxes of >30, >100, and >300 keV outer radiation belt electrons were enhanced at L = 3–4 during the storm main phase. A gradual decay of the trapped fluxes was observed over the following 5–7 days, even though no significant precipitation fluxes could be observed in the Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES) electron precipitation detectors. We use the Antarctic‐Arctic Radiation‐belt (Dynamic) Deposition–VLF Atmospheric Research Konsortium receiver network to investigate the characteristics of the electron precipitation throughout the storm period. Weak electron precipitation was observed on the dayside for 5–7 days, consistent with being driven by plasmaspheric hiss. Using a previously published plasmaspheric hiss‐induced electron energy e‐folding spectrum of E0 = 365 keV, the observed radio wave perturbation levels at L = 3–4 were found to be caused by >30 keV electron precipitation with flux ~100 el cm−2 s−1 sr−1. The low levels of precipitation explain the lack of response of the POES telescopes to the flux, because of the effect of the POES lower sensitivity limit and ability to measure weak diffusion‐driven precipitation. The detection of dayside, inner plasmasphere electron precipitation during the recovery phase of the storm is consistent with plasmaspheric hiss wave‐particle interactions and shows that the waves can be a significant influence on the evolution of the outer radiation belt trapped flux that resides inside the plasmapause.

TRMM: Trazendo o sensoriamento remoto de precipitação para sua sala de aula

Satélites geossíncronos ambientais de órbita polar fornecem dados importantes sobre nosso planeta há mais de 50 anos. O satélite tropical de medição de precipitações (TRMM na sigla em Inglês) monitora nuvens, precipitação e outros aspectos do ciclo da água entre 35 graus de latitude norte e 35 graus sul. A coleção de imagens TRMM oferece vasta gama de recursos que podem ser usados para criar aulas e para proporcionar, de modo autêntico, investigação científica pelos alunos.

Short‐term variations of the inner radiation belt in the South Atlantic anomaly

AbstractLong‐term variations of South Atlantic anomaly (SAA) are generally derived by fitting a Gaussian‐like function to an averaged distribution of the proton flux at a certain altitude accumulated over time periods for a month or longer. These data do not show the short‐term variation of SAA arising from geomagnetic storm effects whose time scale is less than a month. To investigate the short‐term variations, the features of SAA for the high‐energy protons detected by NOAA Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites during 1998–2008 have been investigated with a 5 day running average method. It is found that the two SAA parameters for three proton channels reflect the maximal proton flux in SAA and the extension of SAA decreases several percent during geomagnetic storms. Possible reasons for the decreases of the two SAA parameters for high‐energy protons are discussed. Proton losses at the outer boundary of the inner radiation belt can be explained by the field line curvature scattering mechanism, while the decrease of the proton flux near the center of SAA is probably caused by the enhanced neutral atmospheric density during geomagnetic storms. The study of the behavior of high‐energy protons in SAA is useful for understanding of storm time and long‐term variations of the radiation environment near Earth and for constructing dynamic radiation belt models.

FAME-C: cloud property retrieval using synergistic AATSR and MERIS observations

Abstract. A newly developed daytime cloud property retrieval algorithm, FAME-C (Freie Universität Berlin AATSR MERIS Cloud), is presented. Synergistic observations from the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) and the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS), both mounted on the polar-orbiting Environmental Satellite (Envisat), are used for cloud screening. For cloudy pixels two main steps are carried out in a sequential form. First, a cloud optical and microphysical property retrieval is performed using an AATSR near-infrared and visible channel. Cloud phase, cloud optical thickness, and effective radius are retrieved, and subsequently cloud water path is computed. Second, two cloud top height products are retrieved based on independent techniques. For cloud top temperature, measurements in the AATSR infrared channels are used, while for cloud top pressure, measurements in the MERIS oxygen-A absorption channel are used. Results from the cloud optical and microphysical property retrieval serve as input for the two cloud top height retrievals. Introduced here are the AATSR and MERIS forward models and auxiliary data needed in FAME-C. Also, the optimal estimation method, which provides uncertainty estimates of the retrieved property on a pixel basis, is presented. Within the frame of the European Space Agency (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI) project, the first global cloud property retrievals have been conducted for the years 2007–2009. For this time period, verification efforts are presented, comparing, for four selected regions around the globe, FAME-C cloud optical and microphysical properties to cloud optical and microphysical properties derived from measurements of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite. The results show a reasonable agreement between the cloud optical and microphysical property retrievals. Biases are generally smallest for marine stratocumulus clouds: −0.28, 0.41 μm and −0.18 g m−2 for cloud optical thickness, effective radius and cloud water path, respectively. This is also true for the root-mean-square deviation. Furthermore, both cloud top height products are compared to cloud top heights derived from ground-based cloud radars located at several Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) sites. FAME-C mostly shows an underestimation of cloud top heights when compared to radar observations. The lowest bias of −0.3 km is found for AATSR cloud top heights for single-layer clouds, while the highest bias of −3.0 km is found for AATSR cloud top heights for multilayer clouds. Variability is low for MERIS cloud top heights for low-level clouds, and high for MERIS cloud top heights for mid-level and high-level single-layer clouds, as well as for both AATSR and MERIS cloud top heights for multilayer clouds.

Characteristics of precipitating energetic electron fluxes relative to the plasmapause during geomagnetic storms

AbstractIn this study we investigate the link between precipitating electrons from the Van Allen radiation belts and the dynamical plasmapause. We consider electron precipitation observations from the Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite (POES) constellation during geomagnetic storms. Superposed epoch analysis is performed on precipitating electron observations for the 13 year period of 1999 to 2012 in two magnetic local time (MLT) sectors, morning and afternoon. We assume that the precipitation is due to wave‐particle interactions and our two MLT sectors focus on chorus (outside the plasmapause) and plasmaspheric hiss (inside the plasmapause) waves. We generate simple expressions based on the geomagnetic index, Dst, which reproduce the chorus‐driven observations for the >30 keV precipitating electron flux magnitudes. Additionally, we find expressions for the fitted spectral index to describe the flux variation with energy, allowing a full energy reproduction as a function of distance from the plasmapause. The hiss‐driven precipitating flux occurs inside the plasmapause but is independent of distance from the plasmapause. In the POES observations the hiss‐induced electron precipitation is only detectable above the instrument noise in the >300 keV and P6 (>800 keV) channels of the flux detection instrument. We have derived expressions for the storm time variation in flux inside the plasmapause using Dst as a proxy. The observations show that there is little evidence for >800 keV electron precipitation occurring outside of the plasmapause, in the MLT sectors studied.

Influence of precipitating energetic ions caused by EMIC waves on the subauroral ionospheric E region during a geomagnetic storm

AbstractIn this paper, we have presented the influence of precipitating energetic ions caused by electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves on the subauroral ionospheric E region during a geomagnetic storm on 8 March 2008 with observations of the Meteorological Operational (METOP‐02) of the Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES), a GPS receiver in Vaasa of Finland and Finnish network of search coil magnetometers. Conjugate observations of the POES METOP‐02 satellite and Finnish network of search coil magnetometers have demonstrated that enhancements of the precipitating energetic ion flux within the proton anisotropic zone are attributed to the interaction between ring current (RC) ions and EMIC waves. With enhancements of the intensity of Pc1 waves observed by search coil magnetometers, the total electron content observed by the GPS receiver accordingly increased, meaning that the enhancement of the ionospheric electron density is attributed to the precipitation of RC ions caused by EMIC waves. The electron density profiles derived by the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI‐2007) model and with precipitating energetic protons observed by the POES METOP‐02 satellite show that the energetic proton precipitation can cause the E layer peak electron density to increase from 1.62 × 109 m−3 to 5.05 × 1011 m−3 by 2.49 orders of magnitude. In comparison with the height‐integrated conductivities derived by the IRI‐2007 model, the height‐integrated Pedersen and Hall conductivities derived with precipitating energetic protons increase by 2.4 and 2.34 orders of magnitude, respectively. Our result suggests that precipitating energetic ions caused by EMIC waves can lead to an obvious enhancement of the electron density and conductivities in the subauroral ionospheric E region during geomagnetic storms.