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Magnetic Field Variations and Dynamics of the Outer Electron Radiation Belt of the Earth’s Magnetosphere in February 2014

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Abstract—

The paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of the dynamics of relativistic electron fluxes of the Earth’s outer radiation belt and correspondent ring current and magnetospheric magnetic field variations for February 15–22, 2014, based on experimental data obtained in the radiation belt core aboard Van Allen Probes satellites and in geostationary orbit aboard the GOES-15 satellite. The A2000 paraboloid model of the magnetosphere is used to calculate the contributions of main magnetospheric current systems to the Dst variation. The influence of external factors—solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field—is considered. Comparison of the dynamics of electron fluxes in different orbits and the geomagnetic field variations for February 15‒22, 2014 indicate that the main mechanisms of the evolution of outer electron radiation belt are global processes: (i) outward and inward shifts of the trapped electron population inside the Earth’s magnetosphere due to large-scale variations of the magnetospheric magnetic field during geomagnetic disturbances and (ii) ExB drift of electrons from the magnetotail under the influence of electric and magnetic fields. Local particle acceleration is auxiliary process in the dynamics of radiation belts. The southward orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field is the necessary condition for an increase in the intensity of electron fluxes of the Earth’s outer radiation belt, while the function (–BzVsw) is the key external factor.

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6. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Data on solar wind and geomagnetic indices were obtained at the Goddard Space Flight Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (Omniweb) and at the World Data Center C2 for Geomagnetism, Kyoto. The experimental data from Van Allen Probes spacecrafts were obtained from the NASA/GSFC Space Physics Data Facility (SPDF), CDAWeb (the Coordinated Data Analysis Web) (https://cdaweb.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov).

Funding

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 19-05-00960) and the International Space Science Institute (ISSI and ISSI-BJ-439).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics, Moscow State University, 119991, Moscow, Russia

    N. A. Vlasova, V. V. Kalegaev & I. S. Nazarkov

  2. National Higher French Institute of Aeronautics and Space (ISAE-SUPAERO), Toulouse, France

    A. Prost

Authors
  1. N. A. Vlasova
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  2. V. V. Kalegaev
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  3. I. S. Nazarkov
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  4. A. Prost
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Correspondence to N. A. Vlasova.

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Translated by M. Samokhina

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Vlasova, N.A., Kalegaev, V.V., Nazarkov, I.S. et al. Magnetic Field Variations and Dynamics of the Outer Electron Radiation Belt of the Earth’s Magnetosphere in February 2014. Geomagn. Aeron. 60, 7–19 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793220010144

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