The Macao Science Satellite-1(known as MSS-1)is the first scientific exploration satellite that was designed to measure the Earth's low latitude magnetic field at high resolution and with high precision by collect...The Macao Science Satellite-1(known as MSS-1)is the first scientific exploration satellite that was designed to measure the Earth's low latitude magnetic field at high resolution and with high precision by collecting data in a near-equatorial orbit.Magnetic field data from MSS-1's onboard Vector Fluxgate Magnetometer(VFM),collected at a sample rate of 50 Hz,allows us to detect and investigate sources of magnetic data contamination,from DC to relevant Nyquist frequency.Here we report two types of artificial disturbances in the VFM data.One is V-shaped events concentrated at night,with frequencies sweeping from the Nyquist frequency down to zero and back up.The other is 5-Hz events(ones that exhibit a distinct 5 Hz spectrum peak);these events are always accompanied by intervals of spiky signals,and are clearly related to the attitude control of the satellite.Our analyses show that VFM noise levels in daytime are systematically lower than in nighttime.The daily average noise levels exhibit a period of about 52 days.The V-shaped events are strongly correlated with higher VFM noise levels.展开更多
The Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging(MIGHTI)onboard the Ionospheric Connection Explorer(ICON)satellite offers the opportunity to investigate the altitude profile of thermospher...The Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging(MIGHTI)onboard the Ionospheric Connection Explorer(ICON)satellite offers the opportunity to investigate the altitude profile of thermospheric winds.In this study,we used the red-line measurements of MIGHTI to compare with the results estimated by Horizontal Wind Model 14(HWM14).The data selected included both the geomagnetic quiet period(December 2019 to August 2022)and the geomagnetic storm on August 26-28,2021.During the geomagnetic quiet period,the estimations of neutral winds from HWM14 showed relatively good agreement with the observations from ICON.According to the ICON observations,near the equator,zonal winds reverse from westward to eastward at around 06:00 local time(LT)at higher altitudes,and the stronger westward winds appear at later LTs at lower altitudes.At around 16:00 LT,eastward winds at 300 km reverse to westward,and vertical gradients of zonal winds similar to those at sunrise hours can be observed.In the middle latitudes,zonal winds reverse about 2-4 h earlier.Meridional winds vary more significantly than zonal winds with seasonal and latitudinal variations.According to the ICON observations,in the northern low latitudes,vertical reversals of meridional winds are found at 08:00-13:00 LT from 300 to 160 km and at around 18:00 LT from 300 to 200 km during the June solstice.Similar reversals of meridional winds are found at 04:00-07:00 LT from 300 to 160 km and at 22:00-02:00 LT from 270 to 200 km during the December solstice.In the southern low latitudes,meridional wind reversals occur at 08:00-11:00 LT from 200 to 160 km and at 21:00-02:00 LT from 300 to 200 km during the June solstice.During the December solstice,reversals of the meridional wind appear at 20:00-01:00 LT below 200 km and at 06:00-11:00 LT from 300 to 160 km.In the northern middle latitudes,the northward winds are dominant at 08:00-14:00 LT at 230 km during the June solstice.Northward winds persist until 16:00 LT at 160 and 300 km.During the December solstice,the northward winds are dominant from 06:00 to 21:00 LT.The vertical variations in neutral winds during the geomagnetic storm on August 26-28 were analyzed in detail.Both meridional and zonal winds during the active geomagnetic period observed by ICON show distinguishable vertical shear structures at different stages of the storm.On the dayside,during the main phase,the peak velocities of westward winds extend from a higher altitude to a lower altitude,whereas during the recovery phase,the peak velocities of the westward winds extend from lower altitudes to higher altitudes.The velocities of the southward winds are stronger at lower altitudes during the storm.These vertical structures of horizontal winds during the storm could not be reproduced by the HWM14 wind estimations,and the overall response to the storm of the horizontal winds in the low and middle latitudes is underestimated by HWM14.The ICON observations provide a good dataset for improving the HWM wind estimations in the middle and upper atmosphere,especially the vertical variations.展开更多
In this study, we provide a detailed case study of the X-pattern of equatorial ionization anomaly(EIA) observed on the night of September 12, 2021 by the Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk(GOLD) mission. U...In this study, we provide a detailed case study of the X-pattern of equatorial ionization anomaly(EIA) observed on the night of September 12, 2021 by the Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk(GOLD) mission. Unlike most previous studies about the X-pattern observed under the severely disturbed background ionosphere, this event is observed under geomagnetically quiet and low solar activity conditions. GOLD's continuous observations reveal that the X-pattern intensity evolves with local time, while its center's longitude remains constant. The total electron content(TEC) data derived from the ground-based Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS) network aligns well with GOLD observations in capturing the formation of the X-pattern, extending coverage to areas beyond GOLD's observational reach. Additionally, the ESA's Swarm mission show that both sides of the X-pattern can coincide with the occurrence of small-scale equatorial plasma bubbles(EPBs). To further analyze the possible drivers of the X-pattern, observations from the Ionospheric Connection Explorer(ICON) satellite were used. It shows that the latitudinal expansion(or width) between the EIA crests in two hemispheres is proportional(or inversely proportional) to the upward(or downward) plasma drift velocity, which suggests that the zonal electric field should have a notable influence on the formation of EIA X-pattern. Further simulations using the SAMI2 model support this mechanism, as the X-pattern of EIA is successfully reproduced by setting the vertical plasma drift to different values at different longitudes.展开更多
In this study, we provide the first detailed analysis of variations in the spacecraft potential (Vs) of the three Swarm satellites, which are flying at about 400-500 km. Unlike previous studies that have investigated ...In this study, we provide the first detailed analysis of variations in the spacecraft potential (Vs) of the three Swarm satellites, which are flying at about 400-500 km. Unlike previous studies that have investigated extreme charging events, usually with spacecraft potentials as negative as −100 V, this study is focused on variations of Swarm Vs readings, which fall within a few negative volts. The Swarm observations show that spacecraft at low Earth orbital (LEO) altitudes are charged only slightly negatively, varying between −7 V and 0 V, with the majority of recorded potentials at these altitudes clustering close to −2 V. However, a second peak of Vs data is found at −5.5 V, though the event numbers for these more-negative observations are less, by an order of magnitude, than for incidents near the −2 V peak. These two distinct Vs peaks suggest two different causes. We have thus divided the Swarm spacecraft Vs data into two categories: less-negatively charged (−5 < Vs < 0 V) and more-negatively-charged (−6.5 < Vs < −5 V). These two Vs categories exhibit different spatial and temporal distributions. The Vs observations in the first category remain relatively closer to 0 V above the magnetic equator, but become much more negative at low and middle latitudes on the day side;at high latitudes, these first-category Vs readings are relatively more-negative during local summer. Second-category Vs events cluster into two bands at the middle latitudes (between ±20°-50° magnetic latitude), but with slightly more negative readings at the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) region;at high latitudes, these rarer but more-negative second-category Vs events exhibit relatively more-negative values during local winter, which is opposite to the seasonal pattern seen in the first category. By comparing Vs data to the distributions of background plasma density at Swarm altitudes, we find for the first category that more-negative Vs readings are recorded at regions with higher background plasma density, while for the second category the more-negative Vs data are observed at regions with lower background plasma density. This can be explained as follows: the electron and ion fluxes incident on Swarm surface, whose differences determine the potential of Swarm, are dominated by the background “cold” plasma (due to ionization) and “hot” plasma (due to precipitated particles from magnetosphere) for the two Vs categories, respectively.展开更多
The energy spectrum of energetic electrons is a key factor representing the dynamic variations of Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts.Increased measurements have indicated that the commonly used Maxwellian and Kappa di...The energy spectrum of energetic electrons is a key factor representing the dynamic variations of Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts.Increased measurements have indicated that the commonly used Maxwellian and Kappa distributions are inadequate for capturing the realistic spectral distributions of radiation belt electrons.Here we adopt the Kappa-type(KT)distribution as the fitting function and perform a statistical analysis to investigate the radiation belt electron flux spectra observed by the Van Allen Probes.By calculating the optimal values of the key KT distribution parameters(i.e.,κandθ2)from the observed spectral shapes,we fit the radiation belt electron fluxes at different L-shells under different geomagnetic conditions.In this manner,we obtain typical values of the KT distribution parameters,which are statistically feasible for modeling the radiation belt electron flux profiles during either geomagnetically quiet or active periods.A comparison of the KT distribution model results with those using the Maxwellian or Kappa distribution reveals the advantage of the KT distribution for studying the overall properties of the radiation belt electron spectral distribution,which has important implications for deepening the current understanding of the radiation belt electron dynamics under evolving geomagnetic conditions.展开更多
Based on 16 years of magnetic field observations from CHAMP and Swarm satellites,this study investigates the influence of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field(IMF)Bx component on the location and peak current density of ...Based on 16 years of magnetic field observations from CHAMP and Swarm satellites,this study investigates the influence of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field(IMF)Bx component on the location and peak current density of the polar electrojets(PEJs).We find that the IMF Bx displays obvious local time,seasonal,and hemispherical effects on the PEJs,as follows:(1)Compared to other local times,its influence is weakest at dawn and dusk.(2)In the midnight sectors of both hemispheres,the IMF Bx tends to amplify the westward PEJ when it is<0 in the Northern Hemisphere and when it is>0 in the Southern Hemisphere;this effect is relatively stronger in the local winter hemisphere.(3)At noontime,the IMF Bx intensifies the eastward current when it is<0 in the Northern Hemisphere;in the Southern Hemisphere when it is>0,it reduces the westward current;this effect is notably more prominent in the local summer hemisphere.(4)Moreover,the noontime eastward current shifts towards higher latitudes,while the midnight westward current migrates towards lower latitudes when IMF Bx is<0 in the Northern Hemisphere and when it is>0 in the Southern Hemisphere.展开更多
Radiation belt electron dropouts indicate electron flux decay to the background level during geomagnetic storms,which is commonly attributed to the effects of wave-induced pitch angle scattering and magnetopause shado...Radiation belt electron dropouts indicate electron flux decay to the background level during geomagnetic storms,which is commonly attributed to the effects of wave-induced pitch angle scattering and magnetopause shadowing.To investigate the loss mechanisms of radiation belt electron dropouts triggered by a solar wind dynamic pressure pulse event on 12 September 2014,we comprehensively analyzed the particle and wave measurements from Van Allen Probes.The dropout event was divided into three periods:before the storm,the initial phase of the storm,and the main phase of the storm.The electron pitch angle distributions(PADs)and electron flux dropouts during the initial and main phases of this storm were investigated,and the evolution of the radial profile of electron phase space density(PSD)and the(μ,K)dependence of electron PSD dropouts(whereμ,K,and L^*are the three adiabatic invariants)were analyzed.The energy-independent decay of electrons at L>4.5 was accompanied by butterfly PADs,suggesting that the magnetopause shadowing process may be the major loss mechanism during the initial phase of the storm at L>4.5.The features of electron dropouts and 90°-peaked PADs were observed only for>1 MeV electrons at L<4,indicating that the wave-induced scattering effect may dominate the electron loss processes at the lower L-shell during the main phase of the storm.Evaluations of the(μ,K)dependence of electron PSD drops and calculations of the minimum electron resonant energies of H+-band electromagnetic ion cyclotron(EMIC)waves support the scenario that the observed PSD drop peaks around L^*=3.9 may be caused mainly by the scattering of EMIC waves,whereas the drop peaks around L^*=4.6 may result from a combination of EMIC wave scattering and outward radial diffusion.展开更多
This paper briefly reviews ionospheric irregularities that occur in the E and F regions at mid-latitudes. Sporadic E(ES) is a common ionospheric irregularity phenomenon that is first noticed in the E layer. ES mainly ...This paper briefly reviews ionospheric irregularities that occur in the E and F regions at mid-latitudes. Sporadic E(ES) is a common ionospheric irregularity phenomenon that is first noticed in the E layer. ES mainly appears during daytime in summer hemispheres, and is formed primarily from neutral wind shear in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere(MLT) region. Field-aligned irregularity(FAI) in the E region is also observed by Very High Frequency(VHF) radar in mid-latitude regions. FAI frequently occurs after sunset in summer hemispheres, and spectrum features of E region FAI echoes suggest that type-2 irregularity is dominant in the nighttime ionosphere. A close relationship between ES and E region FAI implies that ES may be a possible source of E region FAI in the nighttime ionosphere. Strong neutral wind shear, steep ES plasma density gradient, and a polarized electric field are the significant factors affecting the formation of E region FAI. At mid-latitudes, joint observational experiments including ionosonde, VHF radar, Global Positioning System(GPS) stations, and all-sky optical images have revealed strong connections across different scales of ionospheric irregularities in the nighttime F region, such as spread F(SF), medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances(MSTID), and F region FAI.Observations suggest that different scales of ionospheric irregularities are generally attributed to the Perkins instability and subsequently excited gradient drift instability. Nighttime MSTID can further evolve into small-scale structures through a nonlinear cascade process when a steep plasma density gradient exists at the bottom of the F region. In addition, the effect of ionospheric electrodynamic coupling processes, including ionospheric E-F coupling and inter-hemispheric coupling on the generation of ionospheric irregularities, becomes more prominent due to the significant dip angle and equipotentiality of magnetic field lines in the mid-latitude ionosphere. Polarized electric fields can map to different ionospheric regions and excite plasma instabilities which form ionospheric irregularities. Nevertheless,the mapping efficiency of a polarized electric field depends on the ionospheric background and spatial scale of the field.展开更多
As a companion paper to Zhou RX et al.(2020),this study describes application of the automatic detection and analysis module to identify all the tweek atmospherics detectible in the WHU ELF/VLF receiver data collected...As a companion paper to Zhou RX et al.(2020),this study describes application of the automatic detection and analysis module to identify all the tweek atmospherics detectible in the WHU ELF/VLF receiver data collected at Suizhou station during the period of 3 February through 29 February 2016.Detailed analysis of the identified low-latitude tweek events reveals that the occurrence rate varies considerably—from 800 to 6000 tweeks per day,and exhibits a strong diurnal and local time dependence,the peak occurring before local midnight.The diurnal variation of identified tweeks was similar to that of the lightning data obtained by the World-Wide Lightning Location Network(WWLLN)..Estimates of the propagation distance and ionospheric reflection height of tweek atmospherics suggest that the majority(~92%)of the low latitude tweeks originate from the lightning activity within a radius of 4000 km and that they are very likely to reflect from the lower ionospheric D-region at the height range of 75–85 km.At these lower ionospheric reflection altitudes,~74%of the corresponding electron densities from the tweek spectral measurements are within 24.5–27.5 cm^-3.The daily variation of estimated D-region electron densities in the considered period(February 2016)also exhibits a small overall increasing trend from early to later in the month.展开更多
In this study,we present three experiments carried out at the EISCAT(European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association)heating facility on October 29 and 30,2015.The results from the first experiment showed overshoot...In this study,we present three experiments carried out at the EISCAT(European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association)heating facility on October 29 and 30,2015.The results from the first experiment showed overshoot during the O-mode heating period.The second experiment,which used cold-start X-mode heating,showed the generation of parametric decay instability,whereas overshoot was not observed.The third experiment used power-stepped X-mode heating with noticeable O-mode wave leakage.Parametric decay instability and oscillating two-stream instability were generated at the O-mode reflection height without the overshoot effect,which implies suppression of the thermal parametric instability with X-mode heating.We propose that the electron temperature increased because X-mode heating below the upper hybrid height decreased the growth rate of the thermal parametric instability.展开更多
As a dispersive wave mode produced by lightning strokes, tweek atmospherics provide important hints of lower ionospheric(i.e., D-region) electron density. Based on data accumulation from the WHU ELF/VLF receiver syste...As a dispersive wave mode produced by lightning strokes, tweek atmospherics provide important hints of lower ionospheric(i.e., D-region) electron density. Based on data accumulation from the WHU ELF/VLF receiver system, we develop an automatic detection module in terms of the maximum-entropy-spectral-estimation(MESE) method to identify unambiguous instances of low latitude tweeks.We justify the feasibility of our procedure through a detailed analysis of the data observed at the Suizhou Station(31.57°N, 113.32°E) on17 February 2016. A total of 3961 tweeks were registered by visual inspection;the automatic detection method captured 4342 tweeks, of which 3361 were correct ones, producing a correctness percentage of 77.4%(= 3361/4342) and a false alarm rate of 22.6%(= 981/4342).A Short-Time Fourier Transformation(STFT) was also applied to trace the power spectral profiles of identified tweeks and to evaluate the tweek propagation distance. It is found that the fitting accuracy of the frequency–time curve and the relative difference of propagation distance between the two methods through the slope and through the intercept can be used to further improve the accuracy of automatic tweek identification. We suggest that our automatic tweek detection and analysis method therefore supplies a valuable means to investigate features of low latitude tweek atmospherics and associated ionospheric parameters comprehensively.展开更多
We report an unusual non-storm erosion event of outer zone MeV electron distribution during three successive solar wind number density enhancements(SWDEs)on November 27-30,2015.Loss of MeV electrons and energy-depende...We report an unusual non-storm erosion event of outer zone MeV electron distribution during three successive solar wind number density enhancements(SWDEs)on November 27-30,2015.Loss of MeV electrons and energy-dependent narrowing of electron pitch angle distributions(PAD)first developed at L^(*)=5.5 and then moved down to L^(*)<4.According to the evolution of the electron phase space density(PSD)profile,losses of electrons with small pitch angles at L^(*)>4 during SWDE1 are mainly due to outward radial diffusion.However during SWDE2&3,scattering loss due to EMIC waves is dominant at 4<L^(*)<5.As for electrons with large pitch angles,outward radial diffusion is the primary loss mechanism throughout all SWDEs which is consistent with the incursion of the Last Closed Drift Shell(LCDS).The inner edge of EMIC wave activity moved from L^(*)~5 to L^(*)~4 and from L~6.4 to L~4.2 from SWDE1 to SWDE2&3,respectively,observed by Van Allen Probes and by ground stations.This is consistent with the inward penetration of anisotropic energetic protons from L^(*)=4.5 to L^(*)=3.5,suggesting that the inward extension of EMIC waves may be driven by the inward injection of anisotropic energetic protons from the dense plasma sheet.展开更多
Because radiation belt electrons can pose a potential threat to the safety of satellites orbiting in space,it is of great importance to develop a reliable model that can predict the highly dynamic variations in outer ...Because radiation belt electrons can pose a potential threat to the safety of satellites orbiting in space,it is of great importance to develop a reliable model that can predict the highly dynamic variations in outer radiation belt electron fluxes.In the present study,we develop a forecast model of radiation belt electron fluxes based on the data assimilation method,in terms of Van Allen Probe measurements combined with three-dimensional radiation belt numerical simulations.Our forecast model can cover the entire outer radiation belt with a high temporal resolution(1 hour)and a spatial resolution of 0.25 L over a wide range of both electron energy(0.1-5.0 MeV)and pitch angle(5°-90°).On the basis of this model,we forecast hourly electron fluxes for the next 1,2,and 3 days during an intense geomagnetic storm and evaluate the corresponding prediction performance.Our model can reasonably predict the stormtime evolution of radiation belt electrons with high prediction efficiency(up to~0.8-1).The best prediction performance is found for~0.3-3 MeV electrons at L=~3.25-4.5,which extends to higher L and lower energies with increasing pitch angle.Our results demonstrate that the forecast model developed can be a powerful tool to predict the spatiotemporal changes in outer radiation belt electron fluxes,and the model has both scientific significance and practical implications.展开更多
Using wave measurements from the EMFISIS instrument onboard Van Allen Probes,we investigate statistically the spatial distributions of the intensity of plasmaspheric hiss waves.To reproduce these empirical results,we ...Using wave measurements from the EMFISIS instrument onboard Van Allen Probes,we investigate statistically the spatial distributions of the intensity of plasmaspheric hiss waves.To reproduce these empirical results,we establish a fitting model that is a thirdorder polynomial function of L-shell,magnetic local time(MLT),magnetic latitude(MLAT),and AE*.Quantitative comparisons indicate that the model’s fitting functions can reflect favorably the major empirical features of the global distribution of hiss wave intensity,including substorm dependence and the MLT asymmetry.Our results therefore provide a useful analytic model that can be readily employed in future simulations of global radiation belt electron dynamics under the impact of plasmaspheric hiss waves in geospace.展开更多
The triangulation of red sprites was obtained, based on concurrent observations over a mesoscale convective system(MCS) in North China from two stations separated by about 450 km. In addition, broadband sferics from t...The triangulation of red sprites was obtained, based on concurrent observations over a mesoscale convective system(MCS) in North China from two stations separated by about 450 km. In addition, broadband sferics from the sprite-producing lightning were measured at five ground stations, making it possible to locate and identify the individual causative lightning discharges for different elements in this dancing sprite event. The results of our analyses indicate that the sprites were produced above the trailing stratiform region of the MCS, and their parent strokes were located mainly in the peripheral area of the stratiform. The lateral offset between sprites and causative strokes ranges from a few km to more than 50 km. In a particularly bright sprite, with a distinct halo feature and streamers descending down to an altitude of approximately 48 km, the sprite current signal identified in the electric sferic, measured at a range of about 1,110 km, peaked at approximately 1 ms after the return stroke.展开更多
We report a representative concurrent event of four wave modes at L≈5.0,including electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic(ECH)waves,exohiss,magnetosonic(MS)waves,and electromagnetic ion cyclotron(EMIC)waves,based o...We report a representative concurrent event of four wave modes at L≈5.0,including electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic(ECH)waves,exohiss,magnetosonic(MS)waves,and electromagnetic ion cyclotron(EMIC)waves,based on the observations from Van Allen Probe A on October 15,2015.The diffusion coefficients induced by these waves are calculated by using both the Full Diffusion Code and test particle simulations.Moreover,the scattering effects of these waves on energetic electrons are simulated by using a two-dimensional Fokker-Planck diffusion model.The results show that ECH waves mainly scatter low-pitch-angle(<20°)electrons at 0.1-10 keV;exohiss can significantly scatter hundreds of kiloelectron volt electrons to form a reversed energy spectrum;MS waves mainly affect high-pitch-angle electrons(>60°);and EMIC waves scatter only>5 MeV electrons.The combined scattering effects of exohiss and MS waves are stronger than those of exohiss alone.The top-hat pitch angle distributions produced by exohiss are relaxed after adding the effect of MS waves.Because the energies of electrons scattered by ECH waves and EMIC waves are much lower and higher than those scattered by exohiss and MS waves,respectively,the combined scattering effects with the addition of ECH and EMIC waves show little difference from the results for the combination of MS waves and exohiss.These results suggest that distinct wave modes can occur simultaneously and scatter electrons in combination or individually,which requires careful consideration in future global simulations of the complex dynamics of radiation belt energetic electrons.展开更多
Whistler mode chorus waves are important electromagnetic emissions due to their dual roles in acceleration and loss processes of Earth's radiation belt electrons.A detailed global survey of lower-band chorus is pe...Whistler mode chorus waves are important electromagnetic emissions due to their dual roles in acceleration and loss processes of Earth's radiation belt electrons.A detailed global survey of lower-band chorus is performed using EMFISIS data from Van Allen Probes in near-equatorial orbits.In addition to the confirmation of the positive correlation of chorus wave intensities to geomagnetic activity and dayside-nightside distribution asymmetry of wave amplitude and occurrence probability,the analysis results find that in statistics lower-band chorus emissions exhibit higher wave occurrence rates and larger normalized peak wave frequencies in the magnetically northern hemisphere but somehow stronger peak wave intensities in the magnetically southern hemisphere.While overall the differences between the two magnetically hemispheric distributions tend to be not significant,it is important to establish the magnetically hemispheric distribution profiles of lowerband chorus with respect to L-shell,magnetic local time,and geomagnetic latitude for improved understanding of chorus-induced dynamics of radiation belt electrons.展开更多
An important population of the dayside Martian ionosphere are photoelectrons that are produced by solar Extreme Ultraviolet and X-ray ionization of atmospheric neutrals.A typical photoelectron energy spectrum is chara...An important population of the dayside Martian ionosphere are photoelectrons that are produced by solar Extreme Ultraviolet and X-ray ionization of atmospheric neutrals.A typical photoelectron energy spectrum is characterized by a distinctive peak near 27 eV related to the strong solar HeⅡ emission line at 30.4 nm,and an additional peak near 500 eV related to O Auger ionization.In this study,the extensive measurements made by the Solar Wind Electron Analyzer on board the recent Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft are analyzed and found to verify the scenario that Martian ionosphere photoelectrons are driven by solar radiation.We report that the photoelectron intensities at the centers of both peaks increase steadily with increasing solar ionizing flux below 90 nm and that the observed solar cycle variation is substantially more prominent near the O Auger peak than near the HeⅡ peak.The latter observation is clearly driven by a larger variability in solar irradiance at shorter wavelengths.When the solar ionizing flux increases from 1 mW·m^-2 to 2.5 mW·m^-2,the photoelectron intensity increases by a factor of 3.2 at the HeⅡ peak and by a much larger factor of 10.5 at the O Auger peak,both within the optically thin regions of the Martian atmosphere.展开更多
Modulated high frequency （HF） heating of the ionosphere provides a feasible means of artificially generating ex- tremely low frequency （ELF）/very low frequency （VLF） whistler waves, which can leak into the inner...Modulated high frequency （HF） heating of the ionosphere provides a feasible means of artificially generating ex- tremely low frequency （ELF）/very low frequency （VLF） whistler waves, which can leak into the inner magnetosphere and contribute to resonant interactions with high energy electrons. Combining the ray tracing method and test particle simulations, we evaluate the effects of energetic electron resonant scattering driven by the discrete, multi-frequency arti- ficially generated ELF/VLF waves. The simulation results indicate a stochastic behavior of electrons and a linear profile of pitch angle and kinetic energy variations averaged over all test electrons. These features are similar to those associated with single-frequency waves. The computed local diffusion coefficients show that, although the momentum diffusion of relativistic electrons due to artificial ELF/VLF whistlers with a nominal amplitude of ~ 1 pT is minor, the pitch angle scattering can be notably efficient at low pitch angles near the loss cone, which supports the feasibility of artificial triggering of multi-frequency ELF/VLF whistler waves for the removal of high energy electrons from the magnetosphere. We also investigate the dependences of diffusion coefficients on the frequency interval （△f） of the discrete, multi-frequency waves. We find that there is a threshold value of Af for which the net diffusion coefficient of multi-frequency whistlers is inversely proportional to △f （proportional to the frequency components Nw） when △f is below the threshold value but it remains unchanged with increasing Af when △f is larger than the threshold value. This is explained as being due to the fact that the resonant scattering effect of broadband waves is the sum of the effects of each frequency in the ＇effective frequency band＇. Our results suggest that the modulation frequency of HF heating of the ionosphere can be appropriately selected with reasonable frequency intervals so that better performance of controlled precipitation of high energy electrons in the plasmasphere by artificial ELF/VLF whistler waves can be achieved.展开更多
During 2018 major geomagnetic storm,relativistic electron enhancements in extremely low L-shell regions(reaching L∼3)have been reported based on observations of ZH-1 and Van Allen probes satellites,and the storm is h...During 2018 major geomagnetic storm,relativistic electron enhancements in extremely low L-shell regions(reaching L∼3)have been reported based on observations of ZH-1 and Van Allen probes satellites,and the storm is highly likely to be accelerated by strong whistler-mode waves occurring near very low L-shell regions where the plasmapause was suppressed.It is very interesting to observe the intense chorus-accelerated electrons locating in such low L-shells and filling into the slot region.In this paper,we further perform numerical simulation by solving the two-dimensional Fokker-Planck equation based on the bounce-averaged diffusion rates.Numerical results demonstrate the evolution processes of the chorus-driven electron flux and confirm the flux enhancement in low pitch angle ranges(20◦-50◦)after the wave-particle interaction for tens of hours.The simulation result is consistent with the observation of potential butterfly pitch angle distributions of relativistic electrons from both ZH-1 and Van Allen probes.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(Grant2022YFF0503700)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(42474200 and 42174186)。
文摘The Macao Science Satellite-1(known as MSS-1)is the first scientific exploration satellite that was designed to measure the Earth's low latitude magnetic field at high resolution and with high precision by collecting data in a near-equatorial orbit.Magnetic field data from MSS-1's onboard Vector Fluxgate Magnetometer(VFM),collected at a sample rate of 50 Hz,allows us to detect and investigate sources of magnetic data contamination,from DC to relevant Nyquist frequency.Here we report two types of artificial disturbances in the VFM data.One is V-shaped events concentrated at night,with frequencies sweeping from the Nyquist frequency down to zero and back up.The other is 5-Hz events(ones that exhibit a distinct 5 Hz spectrum peak);these events are always accompanied by intervals of spiky signals,and are clearly related to the attitude control of the satellite.Our analyses show that VFM noise levels in daytime are systematically lower than in nighttime.The daily average noise levels exhibit a period of about 52 days.The V-shaped events are strongly correlated with higher VFM noise levels.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No.2022YFF0503700)the special funds of Hubei Luojia Laboratory (Grant No.220100011)+1 种基金supported by the International Space Science Institute–Beijing(ISSI-BJ) project“The Electromagnetic Data Validation and Scientific Application Research based on CSES Satellite”and ISSI/ISSI-BJ project,“Multi-Scale Magnetosphere–Ionosphere–Thermosphere Interaction.”
文摘The Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging(MIGHTI)onboard the Ionospheric Connection Explorer(ICON)satellite offers the opportunity to investigate the altitude profile of thermospheric winds.In this study,we used the red-line measurements of MIGHTI to compare with the results estimated by Horizontal Wind Model 14(HWM14).The data selected included both the geomagnetic quiet period(December 2019 to August 2022)and the geomagnetic storm on August 26-28,2021.During the geomagnetic quiet period,the estimations of neutral winds from HWM14 showed relatively good agreement with the observations from ICON.According to the ICON observations,near the equator,zonal winds reverse from westward to eastward at around 06:00 local time(LT)at higher altitudes,and the stronger westward winds appear at later LTs at lower altitudes.At around 16:00 LT,eastward winds at 300 km reverse to westward,and vertical gradients of zonal winds similar to those at sunrise hours can be observed.In the middle latitudes,zonal winds reverse about 2-4 h earlier.Meridional winds vary more significantly than zonal winds with seasonal and latitudinal variations.According to the ICON observations,in the northern low latitudes,vertical reversals of meridional winds are found at 08:00-13:00 LT from 300 to 160 km and at around 18:00 LT from 300 to 200 km during the June solstice.Similar reversals of meridional winds are found at 04:00-07:00 LT from 300 to 160 km and at 22:00-02:00 LT from 270 to 200 km during the December solstice.In the southern low latitudes,meridional wind reversals occur at 08:00-11:00 LT from 200 to 160 km and at 21:00-02:00 LT from 300 to 200 km during the June solstice.During the December solstice,reversals of the meridional wind appear at 20:00-01:00 LT below 200 km and at 06:00-11:00 LT from 300 to 160 km.In the northern middle latitudes,the northward winds are dominant at 08:00-14:00 LT at 230 km during the June solstice.Northward winds persist until 16:00 LT at 160 and 300 km.During the December solstice,the northward winds are dominant from 06:00 to 21:00 LT.The vertical variations in neutral winds during the geomagnetic storm on August 26-28 were analyzed in detail.Both meridional and zonal winds during the active geomagnetic period observed by ICON show distinguishable vertical shear structures at different stages of the storm.On the dayside,during the main phase,the peak velocities of westward winds extend from a higher altitude to a lower altitude,whereas during the recovery phase,the peak velocities of the westward winds extend from lower altitudes to higher altitudes.The velocities of the southward winds are stronger at lower altitudes during the storm.These vertical structures of horizontal winds during the storm could not be reproduced by the HWM14 wind estimations,and the overall response to the storm of the horizontal winds in the low and middle latitudes is underestimated by HWM14.The ICON observations provide a good dataset for improving the HWM wind estimations in the middle and upper atmosphere,especially the vertical variations.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2022YFF0503700)the special funds of Hubei Luojia Laboratory (220100011)+1 种基金Chao Xiong is supported by the ISSI-BJ project, “the electromagnetic data validation and scientific application research based on CSES satellite”ISSI/ISSI-BJ project “Multi-Scale Magnetosphere–Ionosphere–Thermosphere Interaction”。
文摘In this study, we provide a detailed case study of the X-pattern of equatorial ionization anomaly(EIA) observed on the night of September 12, 2021 by the Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk(GOLD) mission. Unlike most previous studies about the X-pattern observed under the severely disturbed background ionosphere, this event is observed under geomagnetically quiet and low solar activity conditions. GOLD's continuous observations reveal that the X-pattern intensity evolves with local time, while its center's longitude remains constant. The total electron content(TEC) data derived from the ground-based Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS) network aligns well with GOLD observations in capturing the formation of the X-pattern, extending coverage to areas beyond GOLD's observational reach. Additionally, the ESA's Swarm mission show that both sides of the X-pattern can coincide with the occurrence of small-scale equatorial plasma bubbles(EPBs). To further analyze the possible drivers of the X-pattern, observations from the Ionospheric Connection Explorer(ICON) satellite were used. It shows that the latitudinal expansion(or width) between the EIA crests in two hemispheres is proportional(or inversely proportional) to the upward(or downward) plasma drift velocity, which suggests that the zonal electric field should have a notable influence on the formation of EIA X-pattern. Further simulations using the SAMI2 model support this mechanism, as the X-pattern of EIA is successfully reproduced by setting the vertical plasma drift to different values at different longitudes.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2022YFF0503700)the special found of Hubei Luojia Laboratory (220100011)supported by the Dragon 5 cooperation 2020-2024 (project no. 59236)
文摘In this study, we provide the first detailed analysis of variations in the spacecraft potential (Vs) of the three Swarm satellites, which are flying at about 400-500 km. Unlike previous studies that have investigated extreme charging events, usually with spacecraft potentials as negative as −100 V, this study is focused on variations of Swarm Vs readings, which fall within a few negative volts. The Swarm observations show that spacecraft at low Earth orbital (LEO) altitudes are charged only slightly negatively, varying between −7 V and 0 V, with the majority of recorded potentials at these altitudes clustering close to −2 V. However, a second peak of Vs data is found at −5.5 V, though the event numbers for these more-negative observations are less, by an order of magnitude, than for incidents near the −2 V peak. These two distinct Vs peaks suggest two different causes. We have thus divided the Swarm spacecraft Vs data into two categories: less-negatively charged (−5 < Vs < 0 V) and more-negatively-charged (−6.5 < Vs < −5 V). These two Vs categories exhibit different spatial and temporal distributions. The Vs observations in the first category remain relatively closer to 0 V above the magnetic equator, but become much more negative at low and middle latitudes on the day side;at high latitudes, these first-category Vs readings are relatively more-negative during local summer. Second-category Vs events cluster into two bands at the middle latitudes (between ±20°-50° magnetic latitude), but with slightly more negative readings at the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) region;at high latitudes, these rarer but more-negative second-category Vs events exhibit relatively more-negative values during local winter, which is opposite to the seasonal pattern seen in the first category. By comparing Vs data to the distributions of background plasma density at Swarm altitudes, we find for the first category that more-negative Vs readings are recorded at regions with higher background plasma density, while for the second category the more-negative Vs data are observed at regions with lower background plasma density. This can be explained as follows: the electron and ion fluxes incident on Swarm surface, whose differences determine the potential of Swarm, are dominated by the background “cold” plasma (due to ionization) and “hot” plasma (due to precipitated particles from magnetosphere) for the two Vs categories, respectively.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.42188101,42025404,41974186,42174188,and 42204160)the National Key R&D Program of China(Grant No.2022YFF0503700)+2 种基金the B-type Strategic Priority Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.XDB41000000)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant Nos.2042022kf1016 and 2042023kf1025)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(Grant No.2022M722447)。
文摘The energy spectrum of energetic electrons is a key factor representing the dynamic variations of Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts.Increased measurements have indicated that the commonly used Maxwellian and Kappa distributions are inadequate for capturing the realistic spectral distributions of radiation belt electrons.Here we adopt the Kappa-type(KT)distribution as the fitting function and perform a statistical analysis to investigate the radiation belt electron flux spectra observed by the Van Allen Probes.By calculating the optimal values of the key KT distribution parameters(i.e.,κandθ2)from the observed spectral shapes,we fit the radiation belt electron fluxes at different L-shells under different geomagnetic conditions.In this manner,we obtain typical values of the KT distribution parameters,which are statistically feasible for modeling the radiation belt electron flux profiles during either geomagnetically quiet or active periods.A comparison of the KT distribution model results with those using the Maxwellian or Kappa distribution reveals the advantage of the KT distribution for studying the overall properties of the radiation belt electron spectral distribution,which has important implications for deepening the current understanding of the radiation belt electron dynamics under evolving geomagnetic conditions.
基金the National Key Research and Development Program(2022YFF0503700)National Natural Science Foundation of China(42374200)the National Natural Science Foundation of China Basic Science Center(42188101).
文摘Based on 16 years of magnetic field observations from CHAMP and Swarm satellites,this study investigates the influence of the Interplanetary Magnetic Field(IMF)Bx component on the location and peak current density of the polar electrojets(PEJs).We find that the IMF Bx displays obvious local time,seasonal,and hemispherical effects on the PEJs,as follows:(1)Compared to other local times,its influence is weakest at dawn and dusk.(2)In the midnight sectors of both hemispheres,the IMF Bx tends to amplify the westward PEJ when it is<0 in the Northern Hemisphere and when it is>0 in the Southern Hemisphere;this effect is relatively stronger in the local winter hemisphere.(3)At noontime,the IMF Bx intensifies the eastward current when it is<0 in the Northern Hemisphere;in the Southern Hemisphere when it is>0,it reduces the westward current;this effect is notably more prominent in the local summer hemisphere.(4)Moreover,the noontime eastward current shifts towards higher latitudes,while the midnight westward current migrates towards lower latitudes when IMF Bx is<0 in the Northern Hemisphere and when it is>0 in the Southern Hemisphere.
基金This work was supported by the B-type Strategic Priority Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(grant no.XDB41000000)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(grant nos.42025404,41704162,41974186,41674163,41904144,41904143)+1 种基金the pre-research projects on Civil Aerospace Technologies(grant nos.D020303,D020308,D020104)the China National Space Administration,and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Project(grant no.2019M662700).We also acknowledge the Van Allen Probes mission,particularly the ECT and EMFISIS team,for providing particle and wave data.The electron flux data were obtained from http://www.rbsp-ect.lanl.gov/data_pub/.The wave data from the EMFISIS instrument were obtained from http://emfisis.physics.uiowa.edu/data/index.The solar wind parameters and geomagnetic indices were obtained from the online OMNIWeb(http://omniweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/).
文摘Radiation belt electron dropouts indicate electron flux decay to the background level during geomagnetic storms,which is commonly attributed to the effects of wave-induced pitch angle scattering and magnetopause shadowing.To investigate the loss mechanisms of radiation belt electron dropouts triggered by a solar wind dynamic pressure pulse event on 12 September 2014,we comprehensively analyzed the particle and wave measurements from Van Allen Probes.The dropout event was divided into three periods:before the storm,the initial phase of the storm,and the main phase of the storm.The electron pitch angle distributions(PADs)and electron flux dropouts during the initial and main phases of this storm were investigated,and the evolution of the radial profile of electron phase space density(PSD)and the(μ,K)dependence of electron PSD dropouts(whereμ,K,and L^*are the three adiabatic invariants)were analyzed.The energy-independent decay of electrons at L>4.5 was accompanied by butterfly PADs,suggesting that the magnetopause shadowing process may be the major loss mechanism during the initial phase of the storm at L>4.5.The features of electron dropouts and 90°-peaked PADs were observed only for>1 MeV electrons at L<4,indicating that the wave-induced scattering effect may dominate the electron loss processes at the lower L-shell during the main phase of the storm.Evaluations of the(μ,K)dependence of electron PSD drops and calculations of the minimum electron resonant energies of H+-band electromagnetic ion cyclotron(EMIC)waves support the scenario that the observed PSD drop peaks around L^*=3.9 may be caused mainly by the scattering of EMIC waves,whereas the drop peaks around L^*=4.6 may result from a combination of EMIC wave scattering and outward radial diffusion.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41574146, 41774162, 42074187)the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2018YFC1503506)+1 种基金the Excellent Youth Foundation of Hubei Provincial Natural Science Foundation (No. 2019CFA054)the Foundation of the National Key Laboratory of Electromagnetic Environment (No. 20200101)。
文摘This paper briefly reviews ionospheric irregularities that occur in the E and F regions at mid-latitudes. Sporadic E(ES) is a common ionospheric irregularity phenomenon that is first noticed in the E layer. ES mainly appears during daytime in summer hemispheres, and is formed primarily from neutral wind shear in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere(MLT) region. Field-aligned irregularity(FAI) in the E region is also observed by Very High Frequency(VHF) radar in mid-latitude regions. FAI frequently occurs after sunset in summer hemispheres, and spectrum features of E region FAI echoes suggest that type-2 irregularity is dominant in the nighttime ionosphere. A close relationship between ES and E region FAI implies that ES may be a possible source of E region FAI in the nighttime ionosphere. Strong neutral wind shear, steep ES plasma density gradient, and a polarized electric field are the significant factors affecting the formation of E region FAI. At mid-latitudes, joint observational experiments including ionosonde, VHF radar, Global Positioning System(GPS) stations, and all-sky optical images have revealed strong connections across different scales of ionospheric irregularities in the nighttime F region, such as spread F(SF), medium-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances(MSTID), and F region FAI.Observations suggest that different scales of ionospheric irregularities are generally attributed to the Perkins instability and subsequently excited gradient drift instability. Nighttime MSTID can further evolve into small-scale structures through a nonlinear cascade process when a steep plasma density gradient exists at the bottom of the F region. In addition, the effect of ionospheric electrodynamic coupling processes, including ionospheric E-F coupling and inter-hemispheric coupling on the generation of ionospheric irregularities, becomes more prominent due to the significant dip angle and equipotentiality of magnetic field lines in the mid-latitude ionosphere. Polarized electric fields can map to different ionospheric regions and excite plasma instabilities which form ionospheric irregularities. Nevertheless,the mapping efficiency of a polarized electric field depends on the ionospheric background and spatial scale of the field.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants Nos. 41674163, 41474141, 41204120,41304127, 41304130, and 41574160)the Projects funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grants Nos. 2013M542051, 2014T70732)+2 种基金the Hubei Province Natural Science Excellent Youth Foundation (2016CFA044)The project Supported by the Specialized Research Fund for State Key Laboratoriesthe 985 funded project of School of Electronic information, Wuhan University。
文摘As a companion paper to Zhou RX et al.(2020),this study describes application of the automatic detection and analysis module to identify all the tweek atmospherics detectible in the WHU ELF/VLF receiver data collected at Suizhou station during the period of 3 February through 29 February 2016.Detailed analysis of the identified low-latitude tweek events reveals that the occurrence rate varies considerably—from 800 to 6000 tweeks per day,and exhibits a strong diurnal and local time dependence,the peak occurring before local midnight.The diurnal variation of identified tweeks was similar to that of the lightning data obtained by the World-Wide Lightning Location Network(WWLLN)..Estimates of the propagation distance and ionospheric reflection height of tweek atmospherics suggest that the majority(~92%)of the low latitude tweeks originate from the lightning activity within a radius of 4000 km and that they are very likely to reflect from the lower ionospheric D-region at the height range of 75–85 km.At these lower ionospheric reflection altitudes,~74%of the corresponding electron densities from the tweek spectral measurements are within 24.5–27.5 cm^-3.The daily variation of estimated D-region electron densities in the considered period(February 2016)also exhibits a small overall increasing trend from early to later in the month.
基金EISCAT is an international scientific association supported by research organizations in China(China Research Institute of Radiowave Propagation(CRIRP)),Finland(Suomen Akatemia(SA)),Japan(National Institute of Polar Research(NIPR)and Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory(STEL)),Norway(The Research Council of Norway(NFR)),Sweden(Swedish Research Council(VR)),and the United Kingdom(Natural Environment Research Council(NERC)).This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC,grants 41204111,41574146,41774162,and 41704155)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(grant 2017M622504).The experiment described in this work was carried out by the Russian team led by N.F.Blagoveshchenskaya.The data used in this research are available through the EISCAT Madrigal database(http://www.eiscat.se/madrigal/)and EISCAT Dynasonde database(https://dynserv.eiscat.uit.no/).
文摘In this study,we present three experiments carried out at the EISCAT(European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association)heating facility on October 29 and 30,2015.The results from the first experiment showed overshoot during the O-mode heating period.The second experiment,which used cold-start X-mode heating,showed the generation of parametric decay instability,whereas overshoot was not observed.The third experiment used power-stepped X-mode heating with noticeable O-mode wave leakage.Parametric decay instability and oscillating two-stream instability were generated at the O-mode reflection height without the overshoot effect,which implies suppression of the thermal parametric instability with X-mode heating.We propose that the electron temperature increased because X-mode heating below the upper hybrid height decreased the growth rate of the thermal parametric instability.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants Nos. 41674163, 41474141, 41204120, 41304127, 41304130, and 41574160)the Projects funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grants Nos. 2013M542051, 2014T70732)+2 种基金the Hubei Province Natural Science Excellent Youth Foundation (2016CFA044)the Project Supported by the Specialized Research Fund for State Key Laboratoriesthe 985 funded project of School of Electronic information, Wuhan University
文摘As a dispersive wave mode produced by lightning strokes, tweek atmospherics provide important hints of lower ionospheric(i.e., D-region) electron density. Based on data accumulation from the WHU ELF/VLF receiver system, we develop an automatic detection module in terms of the maximum-entropy-spectral-estimation(MESE) method to identify unambiguous instances of low latitude tweeks.We justify the feasibility of our procedure through a detailed analysis of the data observed at the Suizhou Station(31.57°N, 113.32°E) on17 February 2016. A total of 3961 tweeks were registered by visual inspection;the automatic detection method captured 4342 tweeks, of which 3361 were correct ones, producing a correctness percentage of 77.4%(= 3361/4342) and a false alarm rate of 22.6%(= 981/4342).A Short-Time Fourier Transformation(STFT) was also applied to trace the power spectral profiles of identified tweeks and to evaluate the tweek propagation distance. It is found that the fitting accuracy of the frequency–time curve and the relative difference of propagation distance between the two methods through the slope and through the intercept can be used to further improve the accuracy of automatic tweek identification. We suggest that our automatic tweek detection and analysis method therefore supplies a valuable means to investigate features of low latitude tweek atmospherics and associated ionospheric parameters comprehensively.
基金supported by NSFC grants 41474139,41731068,and 41674164the support from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation through grant 2019 M650316。
文摘We report an unusual non-storm erosion event of outer zone MeV electron distribution during three successive solar wind number density enhancements(SWDEs)on November 27-30,2015.Loss of MeV electrons and energy-dependent narrowing of electron pitch angle distributions(PAD)first developed at L^(*)=5.5 and then moved down to L^(*)<4.According to the evolution of the electron phase space density(PSD)profile,losses of electrons with small pitch angles at L^(*)>4 during SWDE1 are mainly due to outward radial diffusion.However during SWDE2&3,scattering loss due to EMIC waves is dominant at 4<L^(*)<5.As for electrons with large pitch angles,outward radial diffusion is the primary loss mechanism throughout all SWDEs which is consistent with the incursion of the Last Closed Drift Shell(LCDS).The inner edge of EMIC wave activity moved from L^(*)~5 to L^(*)~4 and from L~6.4 to L~4.2 from SWDE1 to SWDE2&3,respectively,observed by Van Allen Probes and by ground stations.This is consistent with the inward penetration of anisotropic energetic protons from L^(*)=4.5 to L^(*)=3.5,suggesting that the inward extension of EMIC waves may be driven by the inward injection of anisotropic energetic protons from the dense plasma sheet.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 42025404, 42188101, and 42241143)the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant Nos. 2022YFF0503700 and 2022YFF0503900)+1 种基金the B-type Strategic Priority Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB41000000)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 2042022kf1012)
文摘Because radiation belt electrons can pose a potential threat to the safety of satellites orbiting in space,it is of great importance to develop a reliable model that can predict the highly dynamic variations in outer radiation belt electron fluxes.In the present study,we develop a forecast model of radiation belt electron fluxes based on the data assimilation method,in terms of Van Allen Probe measurements combined with three-dimensional radiation belt numerical simulations.Our forecast model can cover the entire outer radiation belt with a high temporal resolution(1 hour)and a spatial resolution of 0.25 L over a wide range of both electron energy(0.1-5.0 MeV)and pitch angle(5°-90°).On the basis of this model,we forecast hourly electron fluxes for the next 1,2,and 3 days during an intense geomagnetic storm and evaluate the corresponding prediction performance.Our model can reasonably predict the stormtime evolution of radiation belt electrons with high prediction efficiency(up to~0.8-1).The best prediction performance is found for~0.3-3 MeV electrons at L=~3.25-4.5,which extends to higher L and lower energies with increasing pitch angle.Our results demonstrate that the forecast model developed can be a powerful tool to predict the spatiotemporal changes in outer radiation belt electron fluxes,and the model has both scientific significance and practical implications.
基金supported by the B-type Strategic Priority Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB41000000)the NSFC grants 41674163, 41974186, 41704162, 41904144, and 41904143+1 种基金the pre-research projects on Civil Aerospace Technologies No. D020308, D020104 and D020303funded by China National Space Administration。
文摘Using wave measurements from the EMFISIS instrument onboard Van Allen Probes,we investigate statistically the spatial distributions of the intensity of plasmaspheric hiss waves.To reproduce these empirical results,we establish a fitting model that is a thirdorder polynomial function of L-shell,magnetic local time(MLT),magnetic latitude(MLAT),and AE*.Quantitative comparisons indicate that the model’s fitting functions can reflect favorably the major empirical features of the global distribution of hiss wave intensity,including substorm dependence and the MLT asymmetry.Our results therefore provide a useful analytic model that can be readily employed in future simulations of global radiation belt electron dynamics under the impact of plasmaspheric hiss waves in geospace.
基金supported by the National Key Basic Research and Development Program (2017YFC1501501)National Natural Science Foundation of China (41574179, 41875006)+4 种基金National Natural Science Foundation for Excellent Youth of China (41622501)"The Hundred Talents Program" of Chinese Academy of Sciences (2013068)supported by funding from the NOAA Office of Global Programs for the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP)by NASA via the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)supported by NASA's HQ Earth S cience Data Systems (ESDS) Program
文摘The triangulation of red sprites was obtained, based on concurrent observations over a mesoscale convective system(MCS) in North China from two stations separated by about 450 km. In addition, broadband sferics from the sprite-producing lightning were measured at five ground stations, making it possible to locate and identify the individual causative lightning discharges for different elements in this dancing sprite event. The results of our analyses indicate that the sprites were produced above the trailing stratiform region of the MCS, and their parent strokes were located mainly in the peripheral area of the stratiform. The lateral offset between sprites and causative strokes ranges from a few km to more than 50 km. In a particularly bright sprite, with a distinct halo feature and streamers descending down to an altitude of approximately 48 km, the sprite current signal identified in the electric sferic, measured at a range of about 1,110 km, peaked at approximately 1 ms after the return stroke.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 42188101, 42174190, 42025404, and 41904143)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 2042021kf0016)+2 种基金the B-type Strategic Priority Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB41000000)the pre-research projects on Civil Aerospace Technologies funded by the China National Space Administration (Grant Nos. D020308 and D020104)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Project (Grant No. 2019M662700)
文摘We report a representative concurrent event of four wave modes at L≈5.0,including electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic(ECH)waves,exohiss,magnetosonic(MS)waves,and electromagnetic ion cyclotron(EMIC)waves,based on the observations from Van Allen Probe A on October 15,2015.The diffusion coefficients induced by these waves are calculated by using both the Full Diffusion Code and test particle simulations.Moreover,the scattering effects of these waves on energetic electrons are simulated by using a two-dimensional Fokker-Planck diffusion model.The results show that ECH waves mainly scatter low-pitch-angle(<20°)electrons at 0.1-10 keV;exohiss can significantly scatter hundreds of kiloelectron volt electrons to form a reversed energy spectrum;MS waves mainly affect high-pitch-angle electrons(>60°);and EMIC waves scatter only>5 MeV electrons.The combined scattering effects of exohiss and MS waves are stronger than those of exohiss alone.The top-hat pitch angle distributions produced by exohiss are relaxed after adding the effect of MS waves.Because the energies of electrons scattered by ECH waves and EMIC waves are much lower and higher than those scattered by exohiss and MS waves,respectively,the combined scattering effects with the addition of ECH and EMIC waves show little difference from the results for the combination of MS waves and exohiss.These results suggest that distinct wave modes can occur simultaneously and scatter electrons in combination or individually,which requires careful consideration in future global simulations of the complex dynamics of radiation belt energetic electrons.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41674163,41574160)the Hubei Province Natural Science Excellent Youth Foundation(2016CFA044)。
文摘Whistler mode chorus waves are important electromagnetic emissions due to their dual roles in acceleration and loss processes of Earth's radiation belt electrons.A detailed global survey of lower-band chorus is performed using EMFISIS data from Van Allen Probes in near-equatorial orbits.In addition to the confirmation of the positive correlation of chorus wave intensities to geomagnetic activity and dayside-nightside distribution asymmetry of wave amplitude and occurrence probability,the analysis results find that in statistics lower-band chorus emissions exhibit higher wave occurrence rates and larger normalized peak wave frequencies in the magnetically northern hemisphere but somehow stronger peak wave intensities in the magnetically southern hemisphere.While overall the differences between the two magnetically hemispheric distributions tend to be not significant,it is important to establish the magnetically hemispheric distribution profiles of lowerband chorus with respect to L-shell,magnetic local time,and geomagnetic latitude for improved understanding of chorus-induced dynamics of radiation belt electrons.
基金supported by the B-type Strategic Priority Program No.XDB41000000funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the pre-research project on Civil Aerospace Technologies No.D020105funded by China's National Space Administration(CNSA).The authors also acknowledge support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)through grants 41904154,41525015,and 41774186.
文摘An important population of the dayside Martian ionosphere are photoelectrons that are produced by solar Extreme Ultraviolet and X-ray ionization of atmospheric neutrals.A typical photoelectron energy spectrum is characterized by a distinctive peak near 27 eV related to the strong solar HeⅡ emission line at 30.4 nm,and an additional peak near 500 eV related to O Auger ionization.In this study,the extensive measurements made by the Solar Wind Electron Analyzer on board the recent Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft are analyzed and found to verify the scenario that Martian ionosphere photoelectrons are driven by solar radiation.We report that the photoelectron intensities at the centers of both peaks increase steadily with increasing solar ionizing flux below 90 nm and that the observed solar cycle variation is substantially more prominent near the O Auger peak than near the HeⅡ peak.The latter observation is clearly driven by a larger variability in solar irradiance at shorter wavelengths.When the solar ionizing flux increases from 1 mW·m^-2 to 2.5 mW·m^-2,the photoelectron intensity increases by a factor of 3.2 at the HeⅡ peak and by a much larger factor of 10.5 at the O Auger peak,both within the optically thin regions of the Martian atmosphere.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41204120 and 41304130)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant No.2042014kf0251)
文摘Modulated high frequency （HF） heating of the ionosphere provides a feasible means of artificially generating ex- tremely low frequency （ELF）/very low frequency （VLF） whistler waves, which can leak into the inner magnetosphere and contribute to resonant interactions with high energy electrons. Combining the ray tracing method and test particle simulations, we evaluate the effects of energetic electron resonant scattering driven by the discrete, multi-frequency arti- ficially generated ELF/VLF waves. The simulation results indicate a stochastic behavior of electrons and a linear profile of pitch angle and kinetic energy variations averaged over all test electrons. These features are similar to those associated with single-frequency waves. The computed local diffusion coefficients show that, although the momentum diffusion of relativistic electrons due to artificial ELF/VLF whistlers with a nominal amplitude of ~ 1 pT is minor, the pitch angle scattering can be notably efficient at low pitch angles near the loss cone, which supports the feasibility of artificial triggering of multi-frequency ELF/VLF whistler waves for the removal of high energy electrons from the magnetosphere. We also investigate the dependences of diffusion coefficients on the frequency interval （△f） of the discrete, multi-frequency waves. We find that there is a threshold value of Af for which the net diffusion coefficient of multi-frequency whistlers is inversely proportional to △f （proportional to the frequency components Nw） when △f is below the threshold value but it remains unchanged with increasing Af when △f is larger than the threshold value. This is explained as being due to the fact that the resonant scattering effect of broadband waves is the sum of the effects of each frequency in the ＇effective frequency band＇. Our results suggest that the modulation frequency of HF heating of the ionosphere can be appropriately selected with reasonable frequency intervals so that better performance of controlled precipitation of high energy electrons in the plasmasphere by artificial ELF/VLF whistler waves can be achieved.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41904149 and 12173038)Stable-Support Scientific Project of China Research Institute of Radiowave Propagation(Grant No.A132001W07)the National Institute of Natural Hazards,Ministry of Emergency Management of China(Grant No.2021-JBKY-11).
文摘During 2018 major geomagnetic storm,relativistic electron enhancements in extremely low L-shell regions(reaching L∼3)have been reported based on observations of ZH-1 and Van Allen probes satellites,and the storm is highly likely to be accelerated by strong whistler-mode waves occurring near very low L-shell regions where the plasmapause was suppressed.It is very interesting to observe the intense chorus-accelerated electrons locating in such low L-shells and filling into the slot region.In this paper,we further perform numerical simulation by solving the two-dimensional Fokker-Planck equation based on the bounce-averaged diffusion rates.Numerical results demonstrate the evolution processes of the chorus-driven electron flux and confirm the flux enhancement in low pitch angle ranges(20◦-50◦)after the wave-particle interaction for tens of hours.The simulation result is consistent with the observation of potential butterfly pitch angle distributions of relativistic electrons from both ZH-1 and Van Allen probes.
