On the Interplanetary Parameter Schemes which Drive the Variability of
the Source/Seed Electron Population at GEO
Abstract
Electron variability at geosynchronous orbit plays a key role in
satellite operations especially concerning the low energies which can
lead to surface charging effects on spacecraft. In this work, we use 9
years (2011-2019) of electron measurements from GOES-13, 14 and 15
satellites to study the evolution of electron uxes with various solar,
solar wind and magnetospheric parameters. The source electron fluxes are
shown to be well correlated with AE index and Newell’s function, while
the seed electron fluxes are shown to be well correlated with solar wind
speed. Based on these findings, we have developed a predictive multiple
regression model for electron fluxes in the 30-350 keV energy range
which uses solely solar wind parameters’ measurements. The model may
have a variety of applications related nowcasting/forecasting of the
distribution of electron fluxes at GEO including serving as low-energy
boundary conditions for studying electron acceleration to relativistic
energies or providing information for predicting surface and/or internal
charging effects on spacecraft.