2013 Radiation Belts Workshop: Comprehending, Specifying and Forecasting their Dynamics

30 Jun 2013, 08:00 → 3 Jul 2013, 23:00 Europe/Athens

Island of Santorini, Greece (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santorini)

Hugh Evans (ESA/TEC-EES), Ioannis Daglis (National Observatory of Athens), Paul O'Brien (Aerospace Corporation), Richard Horne (British Antarctic Survey)

The 2013 Radiation Belts Workshop is the first of a series of radiation belt meetings that are planned to be held in the Aegean islands.
As its title conveys, this first workshop includes sessions on radiation belt research and specification. The workshop focuses, in particular, on the properties of low frequency electromagnetic waves and their effects on radiation belts dynamics. The other highlight of the workshop is the ongoing international effort on improvement of the AE9/AP9 Next Generation Radiation Specification Models.
These sessions will be complemented with presentations of the progress achieved by two relevant FP7-Space projects: MAARBLE (http://www.maarble.eu/) and SPACECAST (http://fp7-spacecast.eu/).

Local Information Public_Talks_Santorini.pdf

Sunday 30 June

11:00 → 13:00 Registration

13:00 → 14:00 Lunch

14:00 → 17:30 AP-9/AE-9 Business Meeting

Convener: Dr PAUL OBRIEN (The Aerospace Corporation)

14:00 Introductions, update from Boulder meeting

Speaker: Dr PAUL OBRIEN (The Aerospace Corporation)

14:30 AE9/AP9 model overview

Speaker: Dr PAUL OBRIEN (The Aerospace Corporation)

15:00 AE9/AP9 how to contribute

Speaker: Dr PAUL OBRIEN (The Aerospace Corporation)

15:30 Coffee

16:00 ONERA projects

Speaker: Dr Sebastien Bourdarie (ONERA)

16:30 SRREMS

Speaker: Prof. Ioannis Daglis (National Observatory of Athens)

17:00 Van Allen Probes - instruments and data

(by Dave Sibeck)

Speaker: Dr PAUL OBRIEN (The Aerospace Corporation)

Monday 1 July

09:00 → 11:00 AP-9/AE-9 Business Meeting: Session #2

Convener: Dr PAUL OBRIEN (The Aerospace Corporation)

09:00 The Energetic Particle Telescope (EPT): Data exploitation

Accurate measurements of electron and proton fluxes are required for studies of the physical processes that lead to variations of energetic particle spectra at a given position in space, but also for radiation environment modeling and space weather applications. Such measurements can be provided by the Energetic Particle Telescope (EPT) which presently measures energy spectra of electrons (0.5 - 10 MeV), protons (9 - 300 MeV), α- particles (38 - 1200 MeV) and heavier ions (up to 300 MeV/nucleon) on a circular sun synchronous orbit at 820 km altitude, 98.7 deg. inclination. This presentation is focused on comparison of early EPT proton fluxes with corresponding values measured by energetic proton spectrometers onboard the Van Allen Probes as well as with AE9/AP9 predictions. Furthermore, assessed effects of pitch angle distribution on measured proton fluxes will be briefly described. Finally, the advantages of cross-validation of electron and proton data using steady state fluxes (particle fluxes measured after long period of geomagnetically quiet time) will be presented along with concluding remarks on the full EPT data exploitation plan that includes the development of space weather services based on measured flux lifetimes.

Speaker: Dr Sylvie Benck (Center for Sapce Radiations / UCL)

09:30 Cluster RAPID particle data : products and caveats

The RAPID spectrometer for the Cluster mission is an advanced particle detector for the analysis of suprathermal plasma distributions in the energy range from 20-400 keV for electrons, 40-1500 keV (4000 keV) for hydrogen, and 10 keV/nuc - 1500 keV (4000 keV) for heavier ions. We present data products which can be used in Radiation Belt study and the corresponding caveats. Our data products are such as: omni directional intensities, 3D particle distributions and pitch angle distributions. In order to solve problems with RAPID/IES data contaminations we perform simulations with Geant4. Geant4 calculations for RAPID/IES are presented as an example: input as ion/electron distribution, physics processes inside detectors, merging Geant4 to other codes.

Speaker: Mikhail Rashev (Max-Planck Institute for Solar System Research)

10:00 Under-cutoff protons at low Earth orbits measured by the PAMELA experiment

We present a precise measurement of the under-cutoff proton fluxes with kinetic energy > 63 MeV performed by the PAMELA mission at low Earth orbits (350-610 km). The analyzed proton sample was classified into four categories: stably-trapped protons from the inner radiation belt; quasi-trapped protons near the magnetic equator; short-lived un-trapped protons, spreading over all latitudes; and pseudo-trapped protons with chaotic motion at middle-high latitudes, including the penumbra region. The properties of the different magnetospheric populations were investigated in detail, including locations, energy spectra and pitch angle distributions. PAMELA results significantly improve the description of the low altitude radiation environment and can be used to validate various existing models, providing information on the trapping and interaction processes in the magnetosphere.

Speaker: Dr Alessandro Bruno (INFN, Bari, Italy)

10:30 An evaluation of the AP9/AE9 radiation belt models for application in an ESA context

Since the beginning of the space age, considerable effort was invested in building models of the trapped proton and electron populations, culminating in the NASA AP-8 and AE-8 models which have been the de facto standards since the seventies. In the intervening years, there have been several new models created, but none with the coverage in energy or space provided by these original models. The recently released new version of these models (preliminary called AP9/AE9) features significantly improved capabilities and includes a significantly greater quantity of data. The first usage of the AP9/AE9 model in radiation analysis applications has revealed significant differences with results obtained with older radiation belt models for some orbit types. Consequently, an ESA sponsored activity was started to validate the new model results against other radiation belt models and in situ datasets. In addition, the optimal implementation of the new models in existing ESA software packages and tools was investigated. The conclusions of the validation activity will lead to recommendations for updates to the ECSS-E-ST-10-04 space environment standard.

Speaker: Dr Daniel Heynderickx (DH Consultancy BVBA)

11:00 → 11:30 Coffee

11:30 → 13:30 AP-9/AE-9 Business Meeting: Session #3

Convener: Dr PAUL OBRIEN (The Aerospace Corporation)

11:30 Open discussion

Speaker: Dr PAUL OBRIEN (The Aerospace Corporation)

13:30 → 14:30 Lunch

14:30 → 17:30 Specification Models of the Radiation Belts: Specification Models

Convener: Hugh Evans (ESA/TEC-EES)

14:30 Slot Region Radiation Environment Models

The main characteristics and principles of the recently developed Slot Region Radiation Environment Models (SRREMs) are presented. The SRREMs are data-based statistical models that characterize the variability of trapped charged particle fluxes in the region between the inner and the outer electron radiation belts. The models are based on the analysis of a large volume of available data and on the construction of a virtual data base of slot region particle fluxes. The analysis that we have followed retains the long-term temporal, spatial and spectral variations in electron and proton fluxes as well as the short-term enhancement events at altitudes and inclinations relevant for satellites residing in the slot region. The output of the models provide mean and peak energetic particle fluxes for a user-defined mission orbit, space weather conditions and duration as determined by confidence level. Results and future developments of the models are presented and discussed.

Speaker: Ingmar Sandberg (NOA)

15:00 3D Data assimilation in the radiation belts

Significant progress has been done in recent years in application of the data assimilation tools to the radiation belt research. Previous studies concentrated on the analysis of radial profiles of phase space density using multi-satellite measurements and radial transport models. In this study we present analysis of the 3D phase space density using the VERB-3D code blended with CRRES observations by means of operator-splitting Kalman filtering. Assimilation electron fluxes at various energies and pitch-angles into the model allows us to utilize a vast amount of data including information on pitch-angle distributions and radial energy spectra. 3D data assimilation of the radiation belts allows us to differentiate between various acceleration and loss mechanisms. We present reanalysis of the radiation belts and find tell-tale signatures of various physical processes.

Speaker: Prof. Yuri Shprits (UCLA/ MIT/Skoltech)

15:30 The Energetic Particle Telescope (EPT): Data analysis methodology

The Proba-V satellite was launched on the 7th May 2013 onto a sun-synchronous circular low earth orbit at 820 km altitude and 98.7 deg. inclination. The Energetic Particle Telescope (EPT) onboard Proba-V was developed to provide real-time measurements of contamination-free energy spectra of electrons (0.5 – 10 MeV), protons (9 – 300 MeV), α-particles (38 – 1200 MeV) and heavier ions (up to 300 MeV/nucleon) within the space radiation environment. This presentation reports on the EPT concept, its energy channel definition along with a more detailed description of the general performances based on the intrinsic detection efficiency functions. The calibration and functional validation methodologies will briefly be described, followed by the presentation of first results obtained from the instrument in space.

Speaker: Dr Stanislav Borisov (Center for Space Radiations, Université catholique de Louvain)

16:00 Coffee

16:30 Electron and proton discrimination in count rate data applied to SREM measurements in the radiation belts

The definition of regions or times when protons or electrons dominates particle measurements in the radiation belt is deduced from correlation analysis of available channels on the instrument under study. This deep analysis is applied to PROBA-1/SREM and INTEGRAL/SREM measurements in this paper but could be easily applied to any other measurements. First, in flight data will be presented as well as a data analysis dedicated to background level and saturation and glitches issues. Then, taking the advantage of having access to the instrument response functions, it is then possible to discriminate electrons and protons contribution to each individual channel from statistical analysis.

Speaker: Dr Sebastien Bourdarie (ONERA)

17:00 New data and forecasting products in the framework of the EU FP7 Project SPACECAST

Solar activity can trigger sporadic bursts of energetic particles in the solar wind and increase the number of high and low energy particles trapped inside the Earth's radiation belts. These cause damage to satellites and are a hazard for manned spaceflight and aviation. They are difficult to predict due to uncertainties over the basic physical processes, and the need to access reliable data in real time. The SPACECAST project (European Union Framework Programme 7 Project 262468) aims to protect space assets from high and low energy particles in the electron radiation belts and during solar energetic particle events by developing European dynamic modelling and forecasting capabilities. SPACECAST uses a MySQL database server (using the ESA Open Data Interface under licence) operated by DH Consultancy to collect magnetic indices, solar wind parameters and GOES particle fluxes in near real time, and combines this with web services to distribute the data to model servers at NERC/BAS, ONERA and FMI, where model runs are executed to obtain forecasts of high and low energy electron fluxes in the radiation belts. The model results are collected by the DH Consultancy server, post-processed and displayed on the SPACECAST web site (http://fp7-spacecast.eu/) in the form of panel plots, movies and alerts (including a satellite risk index for GEO deep dielectric charging). All processes are fully automated and run at hourly intervals. Most recently, modelling of solar energetic protons and a service to calculate radiation doses have been added. In addition, alert services are being defined which can be tailored by registered users.

Speaker: Dr Daniel Heynderickx (DH Consultancy BVBA)

17:30 → 19:00 Industrial Splinter/Specification Models Discussion

Round table discussion on modelling, Engineering standards and the needs of Industry

Tuesday 2 July

09:00 → 11:00 Wave, Wave-Particle Interactions and RB Dynamics: Session 1

09:00 A discussion on initial results from the Van Allen Probes

The comprehensive particle and field coverage provided by the identical Van Allen Probe spacecraft will enable a revolution in our understanding of the processes that produce the Earth's radiation belts. This discussion addresses initial results from each of the investigations on the mission, demonstrating the wide variety of research now underway.

Speaker: Dr David G. Sibeck

09:20 Initial Look at the Electron Slot and Inner Zone Regions with RBSP/MagEIS

The electron content of inner radiation zone and slot region are two seldom studied regions of the magnetosphere because of lack of good access and the serious background conditions there. The backgrounds created by the high energy protons that exist in the inner radiation zone and extend into the slot region make it difficult to obtain good measurements of the electron distributions there. The RBSP satellites traverse the slot and inner zone regions twice an orbit near the magnetic equator. The MagEIS sensors on RBSP were designed to meet this challenge and provide clean electron measurements over a wide range of energies (0.03 to 4 MeV). We will provide a new view of the electron fluxes in these seldom studied regions

Speaker: Dr PAUL OBRIEN (The Aerospace Corporation)

10:00 Examining the 30 Sep. 2012 dropout using multipoint observations, including Van Allen Probes and THEMIS

In Earth's outer radiation belt, flux "dropout" events involve the sudden decrease of electron fluxes by up to several orders of magnitude in only a few hours, and the dominant mechanism responsible for dropouts is still debated. On 30 September 2012, a major dropout occurred throughout the entire outer radiation belt during the main phase of a strong geomagnetic storm. Here, we investigate the observations from an unprecedented number of vantage points throughout the system using 14 different spacecraft from the NOAA-POES and -GOES constellations and NASA's THEMIS and new, Van Allen Probes (RBSP) missions. This array of observatories allowed us to quantify the full ranges, in energy, equatorial pitch angle, and L* (radial distance), and timescales of electrons effected by this dropout. Furthermore, with THEMIS and RBSP, we calculated relativistic electrons' phase space densities as a function of their three adiabatic invariants (Mu, K, and L*), which remove ambiguity inherent in flux observations due to adiabatic variations during storms. The evolution of the phase space density profiles revealed the true extent of the loss during the dropout, how competing, localized sources became active during the main phase, and how transport likely played a key role in propagating the dropout throughout most of the outer belt. Both THEMIS and RBSP observed key signatures consistent with loss due to magnetopause shadowing and subsequent outward radial transport, including the loss of energetic (i.e., 100's of keV) ring current ions in a similar manner to the relativistic electrons. However, RBSP also revealed that losses to the atmosphere must also play a role, particularly at lower L-shells (L*<~4), which was supported in part by the POES observations. Here, we provide an overview of these results and discuss their implications for our understanding of outer belt dropout events.

Speaker: Dr Drew Turner (University of California, Los Angeles)

10:20 The MAARBLE project: mapping waves and reconstructing particles

The Monitoring, Analyzing and Assessing Radiation Belt Loss and Energization (MAARBLE) project has two focussed and synergistic aims: to advance scientific research on radiation belt dynamics; and to enhance data exploitation of European space missions through the combined use of European and US spacecraft measurements and ground-based observations. MAARBLE employs multi-spacecraft monitoring of the geospace environment, complemented by ground-based monitoring, in order to analyze and assess the physical mechanisms leading to radiation belt particle energization and loss. Particular attention is paid to the role of ULF/VLF waves. A database containing properties of the waves is being created and will be made available to the scientific community. Based on the wave database, a statistical model of the wave activity dependent on the level of geomagnetic activity, solar wind forcing, and magnetospheric region will be developed. Multi-spacecraft particle measurements are incorporated into data assimilation tools, leading to new understanding of the causal relationships between ULF/VLF waves and radiation belt dynamics. Data assimilation techniques have been proven as a valuable tool in the field of radiation belts, able to guide 'the best' estimate of the state of a complex system. This talk presents an overview of project results obtained so far. Other papers of this workshop will present selected results in detail. The MAARBLE collaborative research project has received funding from the European Union under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7-Space) under grant agreement n 284520.

Speaker: Prof. Ioannis Daglis (National Observatory of Athens)

10:40 ULF Waves in the Earth’s Inner Magnetosphere: Role in Radiation Belt and Ring Current Dynamics

Ultra-low frequency (ULF) waves in the Pc4-5 band can be excited in the magnetosphere by the solar wind. Much recent work has shown how ULF wave power is strongly correlated with solar wind speed. However, little attention has been paid the dynamics of ULF wave power penetration onto low L-shells in the inner magnetosphere. We use more than a solar cycle of ULF wave data, derived from ground-based magnetometer networks, to examine this ULF wave power penetration and its dependence on solar wind and geomagnetic activity indices. In time domain data, we show very clearly that dayside ULF wave power, spanning more than 4 orders of magnitude, follows solar wind speed variations throughout the whole solar cycle – during periods of sporadic solar maximum ICMEs, during declining phase fast solar wind streams, and at solar minimum, alike. We also show that time domain ULF wave power increases during magnetic storms activations, and significantly demonstrate that a deeper ULF wave power penetration into the inner magnetosphere occurs during larger negative excursions in Dst. We discuss potential explanations for this low-L ULF wave power penetration, including the role of plasma mass density (such as during plasmaspheric erosion), or ring current ion instabilities during near-Earth ring current penetration. Interestingly, we also show that both ULF wave power and SAMPEX MeV electron flux show a remarkable similarity in their penetration to low-L, which suggests that ULF wave power penetration may be important for understanding and explaining radiation belt dynamics. Moreover, the correlation of ULF wave power with Dst, which peaks at one day lag, suggests the ULF waves might also be important for the inward transport of ions into the ring current. Current ring current models, which exclude long period ULF wave transport, under-estimate the ring current during fast solar wind streams which is consistent with a potential role for ULF waves in ring current energisation. Finally, the combination of data from ground arrays such as CARISMA and the contemporaneous operation of the NASA Van Allen Probes mission offers an excellent basis for understanding this cross-energy plasma coupling which spans more than 6 orders of magnitude in energy; we present an initial example of ULF-wave particle interaction using early mission data. This work has received funding from the European Union under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7-Space) under grant agreement n 284520 for the MAARBLE (Monitoring, Analyzing and Assessing Radiation Belt Energization and Loss) collaborative research project.

Speaker: Ian Robert Mann (Dept Physics, Univ Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada)

11:00 → 11:30 Coffee

11:30 → 13:30 Wave, Wave-Particle Interactions and RB Dynamics: Session #2

11:30 Particle diffusion due to oblique chorus and hiss waves

For the modelling of the dynamics and evolution of the radiation belts, it is necessary to possess precise estimates of the lifetime of energetic particles and of the characteristic time of particle acceleration for different energies and pitch-angles in a wide range of L-shells. The lifetimes of electrons trapped in Earth’s radiation belts are supposed to be determined by a process of quasi-linear pitch-angle diffusion by whistler-mode waves, assuming that their frequency spectrum is broad enough and/or their average amplitudes are not too large. We calculated the bounce-averaged electron pitch-angle diffusion coefficients using the statistical characteristics of lower band chorus activity collected by the Cluster mission during 2001-2010. These ten years of Cluster observations provide the statistical distribution of the polar angle between wave vectors and the background magnetic field, as well as the distributions of the wave total intensity for relatively wide ranges of magnetic latitude λ, magnetic local time, and Kp index. We show that the presence of oblique waves is responsible for a very important effect on particle diffusion. We found that inclusion of oblique whistler wave propagation leads to a significant increase in pitch-angle diffusion rates over those calculated under the assumption of parallel whistler wave propagation. The effect was pronounced for electrons with small equatorial pitch-angles close to the loss cone and could result in as much as an order of magnitude decrease of the electron lifetimes. We show that the intensification of pitch-angle diffusion can be explained by the contribution of higher-order cyclotron resonances. We demonstrate that the most important effect on particle diffusion is associated with the part of wave angular distribution located between the Gendrin angle and the resonance cone angle. A separation of the wave distribution into two distinct parts: “quasi-parallel” and “strongly oblique” allows one to obtain semi-analytical lifetime estimates. We present extensive comparisons between improved analytical lifetime estimates and full numerical calculations in a broad parameter range representative of a large part of the magnetosphere from L = 2 to 7. The effects of observed very oblique whistler waves are taken into account in both numerical and analytical calculations. Analytical lifetimes (and pitch-angle diffusion coefficients) are found to be in good agreement with full numerical calculations based on CRRES and Cluster hiss and lightning-generated wave measurements inside the plasmasphere and Cluster lower-band chorus wave measurements in the outer belt for electron energies ranging from 100 keV to 5 MeV. Comparisons with lifetimes recently obtained from electron flux measurements on SAMPEX, SCATHA, SAC-C and DEMETER also show reasonable agreement. We have also evaluated the effect of oblique wave propagation on energy diffusion of particles. A comparative analysis of the effects of angular diffusion and energy diffusion provides some indications on the possible mechanisms of particle acceleration and the growth of energetic particle fluxes during magnetic storms.

Speaker: Dr Vladimir Krasnoselskikh (LPC2E)

12:10 1-D Radial Diffusion Simulation of the Outer Radiation Belt Driven by New Analytic Expressions for the ULF Wave Diffusion Coefficients.

We present analytic expressions for ULF wave derived radiation belt radial diffusion coefficients, as a function of L and Kp, which can easily be incorporated into global radiation belt transport models. The diffusion coefficients are derived from statistical representations of ULF wave electric field power, mapped from ground-magnetometer data, and from in-situ characterisations of compressional magnetic field power. We show that the overall electric and magnetic diffusion coefficients are to a good approximation both independent of energy and the azimuthal wavenumber, m, of the waves. We present example 1-D radial diffusion results from simulations driven by THEMIS and CRRES observed time-dependent energy spectra at the outer boundary, under the action of radial diffusion driven by the new ULF wave radial diffusion coefficients and with an empirical VLF lower band chorus loss term (as a function of Kp and L) The model results are seen to be in excellent agreement with THEMIS and CRRES flux observations - even though the model does not include the effects of a local internal acceleration source such as might be expected to arise from resonance with lower band chorus waves. Our results highlight not only the importance of correct specification of radial diffusion coefficients for developing accurate models, but also show significant promise for radiation belt specification based on relatively simple models driven by solar wind parameters such as solar wind speed or geomagnetic indices such as Kp.

Speaker: Dr Louis Ozeke (University of Alberta)

12:30 Simultaneous observations of ULF waves in the Earth’s magnetosphere, topside ionosphere and surface

We have found a specific time interval during the Halloween 2003 magnetic storm, when the Cluster and CHAMP spacecraft were in good local time (LT) conjunction, and have examined the Pc3 (22-100 mHz) and Pc4-5 (1-22 mHz) ULF wave activity using data from Cluster, CHAMP and the CARISMA magnetometer network. We provide evidence for the first simultaneous observation of a Pc3 ULF wave event in the magnetosphere, in the topside ionosphere and on the ground, by Cluster, CHAMP and the Dawson (DAWS) magnetic station respectively at 13:00 LT. Moreover, we show the remarkably clear transition of the wave’s frequency into a higher regime within the Pc3 range, simultaneously detected in the magnetosphere and topside ionosphere and on the Earth’s surface. The commonly observed wave parameters (i.e. onset, duration and frequency content) at Cluster, CHAMP and DAWS provide evidence that we are, indeed, observing manifestation of the same phenomenon. This work has received support from the European Space Agency under contract ESTEC 4000103770/11/NL/JA/ef and from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement no. 284520 for the MAARBLE (Monitoring, Analyzing and Assessing Radiation Belt Energization and Loss) collaborative research project.

Speaker: Dr Georgios Balasis (National Observatory of Athens)

12:50 Unusual long-lasting EMIC wave event during the Van Allen Probes era

We will present an example of unusual long-lasting EMIC wave event from October 11, 2012 which occurred in the recovery of a moderate geomagnetic storm (with minimum Dst=-111 nT on October 9, 2012). The wave activity spanned the interval of almost 24 hours MLT and was detected at multiple CARISMA magnetometer stations. During the event, the Van Allen Probe B had a beautiful conjunction with the ground stations and also observed EMIC waves in the local morning sector on a footprint at L~4. In addition, the NOAA POES satellite observed precipitation of energetic (E=30-800 keV) protons at the LEO orbit above the region of EMIC wave activity seen on the ground. Interestingly, despite the fact that intense EMIC waves were present in the inner duskside magnetosphere where they are believed to interact with energetic electrons, neither the Van Allen Probes nor NOAA POES show signatures of MeV electron flux reduction or precipitation, respectively, during that interval. We investigate the potential explanations for not only the excitation of large amplitude EMIC waves across a broad range of local times, but also examine the potential reasons for their apparent inability to effect loss of MeV electrons from the outer radiation belt – specifically including the effects of cold plasma density and the location of the plasmapause on the EMIC-MeV electron resonance conditions. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7–SPACE–2010–1) under grant agreement n. 284520 for the MAARBLE (Monitoring, Analyzing and Assessing Radiation Belt Energization and Loss) collaborative research project.

Speaker: Prof. Ian Mann (University of Alberta)

13:10 EMIC triggered emissions: Cluster observations and ray-tracing results

EMIC triggered emissions have been reported in the inner magnetosphere at the edge of the nightside plasmapause [Pickett et al., 2010]. The generation mechanism proposed by Omura et al. [2010] is very similar to the one of the whistler chorus emissions. Corresponding simulation results agree with observations and theory [Shoji et Omura, 2011]. The main characteristics of these emissions generated in the magnetic equatorial plane region are a frequency with time dispersion and a high level of coherence. We present here a Cluster case study , on the 19th of March 2001 at 1000UT when EMIC triggered emissions are observed by the four spacecraft. At that time the fleet was close to the nightside plasmapause at a magnetic latitude of about 10-15 degrees. From single spacecraft measurements we can estimate the polarization properties of these waves by combining STAFF and FGM data: the wave vector is almost perpendicular to B and it displays a right-hand circular polarization. Adding the EFW data, we show that the Poynting vector is directed mainly toward the Earth. The fleet configuration allows us possible to confirm this sense of propagation by a multi-spacecraft analysis. The second part of this work is dedicated to ray tracing analysis. We use the spacecraft position, the wave vector orientation and the frequency of the emissions and the usual parameters for Tsyganenko models as input data for the model. From the ray tracing results we estimate the position and the size of the source region. We also compare the observed propagation velocity to the estimated one. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7–SPACE–2010–1) under grant agreement n. 284520 (MAARBLE).

Speaker: Dr Benjamin Grison (Institute of Atmospheric Physics ASCR)

13:30 → 14:30 Lunch

15:30 → 21:00 Excursion: Boat Trip to Nea Kameni.

15:30 Boat Trip to Nea Kameni

Boat trip to the small uninhabited island of Nea Kameni (New Burnt), located in the center of the caldera. The island hosts the “National Geological Park of Nea Kameni”, which is the active volcano of Santorini (http://iamofftosantorini.com/2010/08/volcano-tour-santorini-nea-kameni/). Possibly with an extension to watch the sunset from the boat (http://www.santorini-volcano-tours.com/en/sunset-trip)

Wednesday 3 July

09:00 → 11:00 Wave, Wave-Particle Interactions and RB Dynamics: Session #3

09:00 Using Ionospheric Heaters to Explore the Physics of the Radiation Belts

After many decades of successful and frontier RB science fundamental physics questions remain either unresolved or the answers involve great uncertainty. Current experimental techniques that use mainly correlative spacecraft observations have difficulties in resolving questions such as: What is the attenuation rate of Shear Alfven (SA) waves propagating towards the conjugates? Are there regions of mode conversion of SA waves to EMIC waves and what are the characteristics of the resonant conversion? What are the properties of the EMIC waves? What are the pitch angle scattering rates of relativistic electrons by EMIC waves? What are the pitch angle scattering rates of multi-MeV protons by SA waves? What are the properties of Field Line Resonances in the inner RB? What is the non-linear physics of triggered emissions? Is there an Ionospheric Alfven Resonator (IAR) structure in the inner RB and what are its characteristics? What is the physics of quasi-periodic VLF pulsations and associated electron precipitation? How do Pc1 waves propagate? The main difficulty is that the source of the waves and its location cannot be identified with certainty. One is faced with the classic “chicken and egg” problem. The next few years present us with a unique opportunity to conduct active cause-and-effect experiments in both the inner outer RB with major implications to the overall understanding of .wave propagation and wave-particle interaction physics. This unique scientific opportunity is enabled by the coincidence of two major events. (i) The availability of HF ionospheric heaters spanning all relevant L-shells that can inject in controlled fashion waves in the ULF/ELF/VLF into the RB; (ii) The extensive satellite diagnostic coverage that includes missions such as the Van-Allen mission, ePoP/Cassiope, DSX, ERG, ORBITALS (?) and last but not least the Russian RESONANCE mission. Following a brief introduction of the physics of injecting low frequency waves in the RB by using modulated ionospheric HF heating the paper will describe examples of upcoming studies of probing the inner RB by using ULF/ELF waves generated by the new Arecibo heater and the unique opportunities of joint HAARP/RESONANCE experiments.

Speaker: Prof. Dennis Papadopoulos (University of Maryland)

09:40 A new diffusion matrix for chorus waves

Global models of the Van Allen radiation belts usually include resonant wave-particle interactions as a diffusion process, but there is a large uncertainty over the diffusion rates. Here we present a new diffusion matrix for whistler mode chorus waves that can be used in such models. Data from seven satellites are used to construct 3,536 power spectra for upper and lower band chorus for 1.5 < L* < 10, MLT, magnetic latitude 0 - 60 and five levels of Kp. Five density models are also constructed from the data. Gaussian functions are fitted to the spectra and capture typically 90\% of the wave power. The frequency maxima of the power spectra vary with L* and are typically lower than that used previously. Lower band chorus diffusion increases with geomagnetic activity and is largest between 21:00 and 09:00 MLT. Energy diffusion extends to a few MeV at large pitch angles > 60 and at high energies exceeds pitch angle diffusion at the loss cone. Most electron diffusion occurs close to the geomagnetic equator . Pitch angle diffusion rates for lower band chorus increase with L* and are significant at L* = 8 even for low levels of geomagnetic activity while upper band chorus is restricted to mainly L* < 6. The combined drift and bounce averaged diffusion rates for upper and lower band chorus extend from a few keV near the loss cone up to several MeV at large pitch angles indicating loss at low energies and net acceleration at high energies.

Speaker: Prof. Richard Horne (British Antarctic Survey)

10:00 Global statistical evidence for chorus as the embryonic source of plasmaspheric hiss

The origin of plasmaspheric hiss, the electromagnetic emission responsible for the gap between the inner and outer radiation belts, has been debated for over four decades. Recently a new theory proposed that chorus, which is excited in the equatorial region outside the plasmapause, can propagate to low altitudes on the dayside and evolve into plasmaspheric hiss. Here we combine data from six satellites and show that chorus extends along the Earth's magnetic field to high latitudes in the pre-noon sector and, in the equatorial region, there is a clear gap of the order 1-2 Earth radii between plasmaspheric hiss at L*<4 and chorus further out, consistent with ray tracing modeling from a chorus source. Our observations confirm two of the key predictions of the new theory and provide the first statistical evidence for chorus as the embryonic source of plasmaspheric hiss.

Speaker: Dr Nigel Meredith (British Antarctic Survey)

10:20 Measurements of whistler-mode waves in the outer Van Allen belt: systematic analysis of 11 years of multicomponent data from the Cluster STAFF-SA instrument

Whistler-mode waves in the Earth's inner magnetosphere significantly contribute to wave-particle interactions at different scales. Especially, whistler-mode chorus has been shown to play an important role in the dynamics of the outer Van Allen radiation belt. These waves are generated by nonlinear wave-particle interactions occurring in the region close to the geomagnetic equator. They are believed to transfer energy between different parts of the electron phase space distribution and thus contribute not only to the acceleration of radiation belt electrons to relativistic energies, but also to losses of electrons from the radiation belts by their precipitation into the high latitude ionosphere. Accurate description of propagation characteristics and nonlinear time-frequency structure of whistler-mode chorus is therefore important for successful modeling of the dynamics of the Van Allen radiation belts. For our analysis, we use an unprecedented database of measurements of the STAFF-SA instruments onboard the Cluster spacecraft. We separately analyze databases of all recorded data and a subset of this database including cases of banded whistler-mode emissions. We systematically determine the probability density functions of propagation characteristics of chorus. As the spacecraft orbits scan different regions of the Earth's inner magnetosphere, we build maps of these probability density functions. The results show that probability distributions of wave vector directions are often close to a Gaussian-shaped peak centered on the local magnetic field line. This result is especially significant for an important class of whistler-mode emissions of lower band chorus at higher latitudes, well outside their source region. This work receives EU support through the FP7-Space grant agreement no 284520 for the MAARBLE collaborative research project.

Speaker: Ondrej Santolik (IAP Prague & Charles University in Prague)

10:40 Statistics of Whistler-Mode Waves in the Outer Radiation Belt: Cluster STAFF-SA measurements

ELF/VLF waves play a crucial role in the dynamics of the radiation belts, and are partly responsible for the main losses and the acceleration of energetic electrons. Modeling wave-particle interactions requires detailed information of wave amplitudes and wave-normal distribution over L-shells and over magnetic latitudes for different geomagnetic activity conditions. We performed a statistical study of ELF/VLF emissions using wave measurements in the whistler frequency range for ten years (2001--2010) aboard Cluster spacecraft. We utilized data from the STAFF-SA experiment, which spans the frequency range from 8 Hz to 4 kHz. We present distributions of wave magnetic and electric field amplitudes and wave-normal directions as functions of magnetic latitude, magnetic local time, L-shell and geomagnetic activity. We show that wave-normals are directed approximately along the background magnetic field (with the mean value of wave bormal angle - the angle between the wave-normal and the background magnetic field, about 10-15 degrees) in the vicinity of the geomagnetic equator. The distribution changes with magnetic latitude: plasmaspheric hiss normal angles increase with latitude to quasi-perpendicular direction at ~35-40 degrees where hiss can be reflected; lower band chorus are observed as two wave populations: one population of wave-normals tends toward the resonance cone and at latitudes of around 35-45 degrees wave-normals become nearly perpendicular to the magnetic field; the other part remains quasi-parallel at latitudes up to 30 degrees. The observed angular distribution is significantly different from Gaussian and the width of the distribution increases with latitude. Due to the rapid increase of wave normal poar angle, the wave mode becomes quasi-electrostatic and the corresponding electric field increases with latitude and has a maximum near 30 degrees. The magnetic field amplitude of the chorus {in the day sector} has a minimum at the magnetic equator but increases rapidly with latitude with a local maximum near 12-15 degrees. The wave magnetic field maximum is observed in the night sector at L>7 during low geomagnetic activity (at L~5 for Kp>3). Our results confirm the strong dependence of wave amplitude on geomagnetic activity found in earlier studies.

Speaker: Dr Oleksiy Agapitov (LPC2E/CNRS)

11:00 → 11:30 Coffee

11:30 → 12:30 Wave, Wave-Particle Interactions and RB Dynamics: Session #4

11:30 Initial Results From The Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science (EMFISIS) on the Van Allen Probes

The physics of the creation, loss, and transport of radiation belt particles is intimately connected to the electric and magnetic fields which mediate these processes. A large range of field and particle interactions are involved in this physics from large-scale ring current ion and magnetic field dynamics to microscopic kinetic interactions of whistler-mode chorus waves with energetic electrons. To measure these kinds of radiation belt interactions, NASA implemented the two-satellite Van Allen Probes mission. As part of the mission, the Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science (EMFISIS) investigation is an integrated set of instruments consisting of a tri-axial fluxgate magnetometer (MAG) and a Waves instrument which includes a tri-axial search coil magnetometer (MSC). These wave measurements include AC electric and magnetic fields from 10Hz to 12 kHz and single-axis electric field measurements from 10-400 kHz. We show examples of plasmapause identification and variation determined by the upper hybrid resonance, low frequency ULF pulsations and EMIC waves, and whistler mode waves including upper and lower band chorus. These data are compared with particle measurements to show relationships between wave activity and particle energization.

Speaker: O. Santolik

12:10 Occurrence of hiss emission in the dusk sector

The inner magnetosphere contains two plasma regimes, the plasmasphere and radiation belts, that are coupled to each other. The plasmasphere can support various wave modes that can cause either energization of radiation belt particles or their loss. In particular hiss emission is believed to provide a major loss mechanism of energetic particles Using in-situ multi-point observations from the four Cluster satellites we investigate this region in the dusk sector where large-scale plasmaspheric plumes are regularly formed. The plumes can be observed in nearly all times, although their characteristics depend upon the level of geomagnetic activity. Within the plumes that are 1-2 L shell wide, the plasma drift velocity is 5-20 km/s westward/noonward. The plumes are observed to contain enhanced hiss emission for most of the time, and this hiss emission is observed to be generated at the equatorial region of the plumes and the hiss intensity is highly correlated with local plasma density. Within the plasmasphere the hiss is also observed but in this region the hiss is seen to propagate from the polar regions towards the equator. Again the hiss intensity is seen to be well correlated with local plasma density.

Speaker: Dr Harri Laakso (ESA)

12:30 → 13:30 Poster Session

12:30 A statistical study of ULF wave events observed by the CHAMP satellite

The CHAMP (CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload) satellite was a highly successful German Low Earth Orbit (LEO) mission that operated for more than ten years (2001 – 2010), providing high precision gravity and magnetic field measurements. Due to its almost circular and near-polar orbit it was able to achieve homogeneous and complete global coverage of the Earth's sphere, with orbit and magnetometer measurements, thus enabling many studies in a wide variety of fields. Starting from our wavelet-based spectral analysis methods, which we have applied extensively on CHAMP magnetic field data, we have developed an automated tool for the detection and classification of Pc3 and low frequency Pc2 wave events. The creation of a database of such events enabled us to derive valuable statistics for many important physical properties relating to the spatio-temporal location of these waves, the wave power and frequency, as well as other parameters and their correlation with solar wind conditions, magnetospheric indices, electron density data, ring current decay and radiation belt enhancements. This work has received funding from the European Union under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7-Space) under grant agreement n 284520 for the MAARBLE (Monitoring, Analyzing and Assessing Radiation Belt Energization and Loss) collaborative research project.

Speaker: Mr Constantinos Papadimitriou (Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, Athens, 15236 Penteli, Greece; Section of Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics, Department of Physics, University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece)

12:30 Energetic electron flux enhancements during geospace magnetic storms associated with earthward penetration of Pc 4-5 waves?

ULF waves with frequencies of a few millihertz have been associated with changes in the flux levels among relativistic electrons comprising the outer zone of the radiation belts. In particular, the fluxes of electrons with energies > 1 MeV in the outer radiation belt increase and decrease during geospace magnetic storms. For all storms studied by Reeves et al. [2003], only about half of them led to increased electron fluxes, one quarter led to decreased the fluxes, and one quarter produced little or no change in the fluxes. We focus on the increase of relativistic electrons observed during a number of magnetic storms by GOES satellites at geosynchronous orbit. To minimise the effects caused by the Earth's magnetic field asymmetries, we apply a statistical reconstruction of the fluxes to a common local time, which is chosen to be noon, a technique proposed by O’Brien et al. [2001]. Complementary, SAMPEX satellite data have been used for broader coverage of the L shells over which the radiation belts extend. Next, we look into multipoint observations from ground-based magnetometer arrays and the characteristics of Pc 4-5 waves during the different phases of the magnetic storms with particular emphasis on the distribution of Pc 4-5 wave power over the L shells that correspond to the radiation belts. With these observations as a starting point, we investigate whether Pc 4-5 wave power penetrates to lower L shells during periods of enhanced relativistic electron fluxes. We discuss, lastly, the implications to wave-particle interaction. The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7–SPACE–2010–1) under grant agreement n. 284520 for the MAARBLE (Monitoring, Analyzing and Assessing Radiation Belt Energization and Loss) collaborative research project.

Speaker: Ms Marina Georgiou (National Observatory of Athens)

12:30 Estimates of the Power per Mode Number of Broadband ULF waves at Geosynchronous Orbit

In studies of particles' radial diffusion processes in the magnetosphere it is well known that Ultra-Low Frequency (ULF) waves of frequency m*ω_d can resonantly interact with particles of drift frequency ω_d, where m is the azimuthal mode number of the waves; however due to difficulties in estimating m an over-simplifying assumption is often made in radial diffusion simulations, namely that all ULF wave power is located at m=1 or, in some cases, m=2. In the present work, a technique is presented for extracting information on the distribution of ULF wave power in a range of azimuthal mode numbers, through calculations of the cross-power and phase differences between a number of azimuthally aligned pairs of magnetometers, either in space or on the ground, including estimates of the corresponding phase velocities; subsequently, through integrating the power of the ULF fluctuations at only particular ranges of phase differences that would correspond to a particular mode number, we provide an order of magnitude estimate of the fraction of the total power at each phase difference range or mode number. We find that the temporal evolution of power at each mode number gives unique insight into the temporal evolution of ULF waves during a storm as well as a more accurate characterization of broadband ULF waves that could be used in more accurate radial diffusion simulations.

Speaker: Theodoros Sarris (Democritus University of Thrace)

12:30 New measurements of whistler-mode waves in the outer Van Allen belt: multicomponent wave analyzer ELMAVAN for the Resonance mission

The instrument ELMAVAN is being prepared at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Prague for the Russian Resonance project with international participation, currently scheduled to be launched in 2015. The aim of this four-spacecraft mission is to investigate properties of wave-particle interactions and plasma dynamics in the inner magnetosphere of the Earth with the focus on phenomena occurring within the same flux tube of the Earth's magnetic field. The wave emissions attract increasing attention because of their influence on the dynamics of the Earth’s radiation belts. The Resonance project therefore represents an excellent opportunity for the magnetospheric research, and together with the recently launched two-spacecraft US mission Van Allen Probes, it will contribute to our understanding of the Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts and the inner magnetosphere. ELMAVAN will measure intensity, polarization, coherence, and propagation properties of waves in magnetospheric plasmas. Three orthogonal magnetic search coil antennas and four electric monopoles will be used for the measurements. The instrument will measure fluctuations of the electric and magnetic field in the frequency range 10 Hz - 20 kHz. The scientific motivation is to investigate properties of whistler-mode chorus and hiss emissions, equatorial emissions. Nonlinear wave-particle interactions will be the main target of these measurements. The input signals of ELMAVAN will consist of 3 analog signals from orthogonal magnetic search coil antennas (with a sensitivity better than 10 fT /√Hz at f > 1kHz, max. amplitude 10 nT at f > 100 Hz) and 4 analog signals from electric monopoles (sensitivity 0.1 μV/m /√Hz, max. amplitude 1.2 V/m at f>100 Hz). Databases of VLF measurements from previous spacecraft projects are necessary for a correct definition of characteristics of these future measurements. Experience gained from analysis of existing spacecraft data is also crucial for the design of the onboard algorithms which are implemented in the ELMAVAN analyzer. We especially use the data from the STAFF-SA and WBD instruments onboard the Cluster mission. The work on collection and analysis of these databases receives EU support through the FP7-Space grant agreement no 284520 for the MAARBLE collaborative research project.

Speaker: Ivana Kolmasova (IAP AS CR Prague)

12:30 ODI - Open Data Interface

The Open Data Interface (ODI) is a database system for storing space environment data and metadata using an SQL server. The system is compliant with the SPASE data model. Data can be ingested from text files and CDF/ISTP/PRBEM files. Currently there are more than 100 datasets in the database such as IMP8/GME, SREM, XMM/ERMD, GOES particle and radiation data, and indices such as Dst, Kp, and SSN. Adding new datasets is straightforward. If the raw data to be ingested are CDF files these are automatically converted before the data are stored into ODI. For non-CDF files, like plain text files, a few lines of code need to be edited to correctly parse the raw data files. As ODI is based on SQL it is accessible to a large range of different software platforms. As part of the development, interfaces to IDL, PHP, Python, Matlab and Java have been developed, but the ODBC interface also can provide direct access from many other programs. Interfaces to existing platforms can therefore be set up and applications have been updated to connect to the ODI system like SAAPS, SEDAT, and SPENVIS. ODI is now at version 4 with major updates of the core system.

Speaker: Dr Daniel Heynderickx (DH Consultancy BVBA)

12:30 On the importance of background measurements on mean wave intensity maps

Like in any data sets, wave intensity measurements are often affected by background issues. Due to the properties of chorus emissions, it is expected to have a stronger impact on lower and upper chorus band than on plasmasheric hiss or lightning whistlers emissions. In this study we have analysed background level for each wave band available in the ONERA database (DE1/PWI, CRRES/PWE, POLAR/PWI, CLUSTER1/STAFF-SA, Double Star1/STAFF, Themis-A/FFT, Themis-D/FFT and Themis-E/FFT). Then distribution of wave intensity in the inner magnetosphere have been deduced for each emissions (Plasmaspheric hiss, lightning whislers, lower chorus and upper chorus) and each data sets. Finally the impact of background measurements on average global maps of wave intensity will be discussed.

Speaker: Dr Sebastien Bourdarie (ONERA)

12:30 Reproducing the observed electron flux using the BAS radiation belt model with a new chorus diffusion matrix

The flux of relativistic electrons in the Earth's radiation belts is highly variable and can change by orders of magnitude on timescales of a few hours. Understanding the drivers for these changes is important as energetic electrons can damage satellites. Forecasting the high-energy electron flux in the radiation belts is a challenge that has been taken on by the FP7 project SPACECAST. The BAS radiation belt model, which is used in the SPACECAST project, solves a 3-D Fokker-Planck equation incorporating the effects of radial transport, wave-particle interactions and collisions to model the electron flux throughout the radiation belts. Wave-particle interactions are incorporated into the models as pitch-angle and energy diffusion coefficients. Here we present results from the BAS radiation belt model, using new pitch-angle and energy diffusion coefficients for whistler mode chorus waves produced by the SPACECAST and MAARBLE projects and new diffusion coefficients for plasmaspheric hiss and lightning-generated whistlers developed at BAS. We demonstrate that the model can reproduce the observed flux both during storms, where acceleration by chorus waves is important in the outer belt, and during quiet periods, where losses due to plasmaspheric hiss create the slot region. We also show that the wave-normal angle used to calculate the diffusion due to plasmaspheric hiss is crucial. Several wave-normal angle models for plasmaspheric hiss are considered; using a peak wave-normal angle that varies with latitude gives the best results. Finally, our results demonstrate that radiation belt dynamics are reproduced better when the AE index, rather than Kp, is used to drive the wave-particle interactions.

Speaker: Dr Sarah Glauert (British Antarctic Survey)

12:30 Search for a Radiation Belts Storage Ring in the Cluster-CIS data

Following the launch by NASA of the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) twin spacecraft, now named the Van Allen Probes, the discovery of a storage ring was announced: Baker et al., Science, 2013. This transient feature was observed during September 2012, following the arrival of an interplanetary shock, was located between L=3.0 and L=3.5 and consisted of about 4 to 6 MeV electrons. During that period the Cluster spacecraft had a high-inclination orbit, with a perigee just above 2 Re. The CIS experiment onboard Cluster is sensitive to penetrating energetic electrons (E > 2 MeV), which produce background counts and thus allow to localise the boundaries of the outer and inner radiation belts (Ganushkina et al., JGR, 2011). A search was undertaken in the September 2012 CIS data for eventual signatures of the storage ring, and indeed a small increase of the instrument background was observed between L=3.0 and L=3.5. This is clearly separated from the main outer radiation belt, which presents a much stronger background due to higher fluxes of relativistic electrons. A mono-energetic ion drift band was also observed by CIS inside the storage ring, at about 5 keV for He+ and O+ ions. This result provides an independent confirmation for the storage ring. In addition, it allows also to examine Cluster data from earlier years, covering a full solar cycle, for other such signatures of a transient storage ring.

Speaker: Iannis Dandouras (IRAP, CNRS / University of Toulouse)

12:30 Seismic activity as a possible agent of radiation belt electron losses (precipitation) during active and quiet magnetospheric conditions.

The radiation belt electron precipitation (RBEP) into the topside ionosphere is a phenomenon which is known for several decades. However, the radiation belt source and loss mechanisms have not still well understood, including PBEP. Here we present the results of a systematic study of RBEP observations, as obtained from the satellite DEMETER (Detection of Electromagnetic Emissions Transmitted from Earthquake Regions) and the series of POES satellites, in comparison with variation in seismic activity. We found that this type of RBEP bursts present special characteristics in the inner region of the inner radiation belt before large (M>7 and in some cases M>5) earthquakes (EQs), as for instance characteristic flux-time profiles, energy spectrum, electron flux temporal evolution, longitude-latitude and local time some (2 - ~6) days before an EQ, and they are associated with broad band VLF activity. These PBEP events are most often associated with characteristic variations in ionospheric plasma, TEC and atmospheric conditions. The RBEP before EQs appears, not only as a burst, but as a increase of the normal electron background flux in large range of latitudes during magnetospheric storms. Recent results seem to suggest an increase of the normal electron background flux in the slot region in the presence of a geomagnetic storm and of strong seismic activity as well. Our results suggest that the EQ-related RBEP events and the earth based transmitter -related RBEP events can be well distinguished, and that EQ-related RBEP make the main contribution at middle latitudes.

Speakers: Prof. Georgios Anagnostopoulos (Demokritos University of Thrace), Mr Vassilios Vassiliadis (Demokritos University of Thrace)

12:30 The MAARBLE wave database

The MAARBLE (Monitoring, Analyzing and Assessing Radiation Belt Loss and Energization) project has two focused and synergistic aims: to advance scientific research on radiation belt dynamics; and to enhance data exploitation of European space missions through combined use of European and US spacecraft measurements and ground-based observations. As a part of the project we create an extended database of ULF and VLF waves in the radiation belts, covering both wave power and more advanced wave parameters such as propagation information. The database covers the space data from Cluster THEMIS, CHAMP and GOES spacecraft and ground-based data from CARISMA and IMAGE. Here we discuss the content of the database and give example of the primary data products. This work has received funding from the European Union under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7-Space) under grant agreement n 284520 for the MAARBLE (Monitoring, Analyzing and Assessing Radiation Belt Energization and Loss) collaborative research project.

Speaker: Dr Yuri Khotyaintsev (Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Uppsala, Sweden)

12:30 Variations of ULF wave power throughout the Halloween 2003 superstorm

Focused on the exceptional 2003 Halloween geospace magnetic storm, when Dst reached a minimum of -383 nT, we examine data from topside ionosphere and two magnetospheric missions (CHAMP, Cluster, and Geotail) for signatures of ULF waves. We present the overall ULF wave activity through the six-day interval from 27 October to 1 November 2003 as observed by the three spacecraft and by the Andenes ground magnetic station of the IMAGE magnetometerer array in terms of time variations of the ULF wave power. The ULF wave activity is divided upon Pc3 and Pc5 wave power. Thus, we provide different ULF wave activity indices according to the wave frequency (Pc3 and Pc5) and location of observation (Earth’s magnetosphere, topside ionosphere and surface). We also look at three specific intervals during different phases of the storm when at least two of the satellites are in good local time (LT) conjunction and examine separately Pc3 and Pc4-5 ULF wave activity and its concurrence in the different regions of the magnetosphere and down to the topside ionosphere and on the ground. This work has received support from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement no. 284520 for the MAARBLE (Monitoring, Analyzing and Assessing Radiation Belt Energization and Loss) collaborative research project.

Speaker: Prof. Ioannis A. Daglis (University of Athens)

13:30 → 14:30 Lunch

14:30 → 16:50 Wave, Wave-Particle Interactions and RB Dynamics: Session #4

14:30 Detection of a plasmaspheric wind in the Earth’s magnetosphere by the Cluster spacecraft

The Earth’s plasmasphere dominates the mass content of the inner magnetosphere and therefore plays an essential role in governing the radiation belt dynamics. The configuration of the plasmasphere is highly sensitive to geomagnetic disturbances. During extended periods of relatively quiet geomagnetic conditions the outer plasmasphere can become diffuse, with a gradual fall-off of plasma density. During increasing magnetospheric activity, however, the plasmasphere is eroded and plasmaspheric ions can be peeled off and escape toward the outer magnetosphere. Plumes, forming at the plasmapause and released outwards, constitute a well-established mode for plasmaspheric material release to the Earth’s magnetosphere. They are associated to active periods and the related electric field change. In 1992, Lemaire and Shunk proposed the existence of an additional mode for plasmaspheric material release to the Earth’s magnetosphere: a plasmaspheric wind, steadily transporting cold plasmaspheric plasma outwards across the geomagnetic field lines, even during prolonged periods of quiet geomagnetic conditions. This has been proposed on a theoretical basis. Direct detection of this wind has, however, eluded observation in the past. Analysis of ion measurements, acquired in the outer plasmasphere by the CIS experiment onboard the four Cluster spacecraft, provide now an experimental confirmation of the plasmaspheric wind. This wind has been systematically detected in the outer plasmasphere during quiet and moderately active conditions, and calculations show that it could provide a substantial contribution to the magnetospheric plasma populations outside the Earth’s plasmasphere. Similar winds should also exist on other planets, or astrophysical objects, quickly rotating and having an atmosphere and a magnetic field.

Speaker: Dr Iannis Dandouras (IRAP, CNRS / University of Toulouse)

15:10 Effect of plasma density on diffusion rates for wave particle interactions with chorus, plasmaspheric hiss and EMIC waves: Extreme event analysis.

Wave particle interactions, which play a major role in electron radiation belts dynamics, are controlled by two main parameters: the characteristics of the wave (such as the wave type, its power spectrum and wave normal angle) and the characteristics of the ambient plasma. The purpose of this study is to assess how variations in the plasma density affect diffusion rates for chorus, plasmaspheric hiss and EMIC waves. First, we compare electron plasma densities derived from in-situ measurements (CRRES, THEMIS and CLUSTER) with existing models (Carpenter and GCPM). Then, the electron plasma density measured by CRRES is studied in detail and percentiles of the distribution are calculated for several values of L*. Finally, pitch angle and energy diffusion rates are calculated using the results of the analysis of the CRRES electron plasma density for several energies using typical wave parameters for chorus, plasmaspheric hiss and EMIC waves.

Speaker: Mrs Angélica SICARD-PIET (ONERA)

15:30 Space weather impacts on satellites and forecasting the Earth’s electron radiation belts with SPACECAST

Satellites can be damaged by high energy charged particles in the Earth’s radiation belts and during solar energetic particle (SEP) events. Here we review the growing reliance on satellite services, new vulnerabilities to space weather, and previous events that have led to loss of service. We describe a new European system to forecast the radiation belts up to 3 h ahead, which has three unique features: first, it uses physics-based models, which include wave-particle interactions; second, it provides a forecast for the whole outer radiation belt including geostationary, medium, and slot region orbits; third, it is a truly international effort including Europe, United States, and Japan. During the 8–9 March 2012 storm and SEP event, the models were able to forecast the >800 keV electron flux to within a factor of 2 initially, and later to within a factor of 10 of the GOES data. Although ACE and GOES data became unreliable during the SEP event, the system continued forecasting without interruption using ground-based magnetometers. A forecast of the 24 h electron fluence >2MeV is used to provide a risk index for satellite operators. We show that including wave-particle interactions for L* > 6.5 improves the agreement with GOES data substantially and that a fast inward motion of the magnetopause to L* < 8 is related to rapid loss of relativistic electrons at geostationary orbit. Thus, we suggest that better wave-particle models and better coupling between the solar wind and the models of the magnetopause and radiation belts should lead to better forecasting.

Speaker: Prof. Richard Horne (British Antarctic Survey)

15:50 Discussion

16:50 → 17:15 Coffee

17:30 → 18:30 MAARBLE PM: MAARBLE team meeting

Convener: Prof. Ioannis Daglis (National Observatory of Athens)

19:30 → 20:30 MAARBLE PM: MAARBLE review meeting

Convener: Prof. Ioannis Daglis (National Observatory of Athens)

21:00 → 23:00 Workshop Dinner

TBA