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Van Allen Belt Punctures and their Correlation with Solar Wind, Geomagnetic Activity and ULF Waves
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  • Jayasri Joseph,
  • Allison N Jaynes,
  • Daniel N. Baker,
  • Xinlin Li,
  • Shrikanth G Kanekal
Jayasri Joseph
The University of Iowa

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Allison N Jaynes
University of Iowa
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Daniel N. Baker
University of Colorado Boulder
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Xinlin Li
U Colorado
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Shrikanth G Kanekal
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
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Abstract

We investigate the rare events of sudden appearances of relativistic electrons (>700 keV), which are normally confined to the Van Allen belts, in the slot region. The frequency of occurrence of these events are on average 1-2 per year. To cope with the scarcity of events, in this study we examine 21 years of trapped relativistic electron fluxes available from the POES and MetOp Space Environment Monitor (SEM‐2). Our statistical analysis show that these events can occur even during moderate geomagnetic activity. Occurrence of these events correlates with high speed solar winds or ICMEs depending on the phase of the solar cycle. Most importantly, we show that ULF wave activity plays a significant role in causing these events and the events could be predicted in 75% of the cases.
Jan 2021Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics volume 126 issue 1. 10.1029/2020JA028679