Abstract
Here we examine properties of MeV electron microbursts to better
understand their generation mechanisms. Using 15 years of data from
SAMPEX/HILT, >1MeV microburst repetition periods (time
spacing between bursts) are examined and clear dependencies on AE, L
shell, and MLT are discovered. Microburst repetition periods are
shortest around 0-6 hr MLT and 4-5 Lshell, and grow longer towards the
day and afternoon sectors and larger L shells. Shorter repetition
periods (<1 sec) are also found to be more common during
higher AE, while longer periods (>10 sec) more common
during quiet times. The microburst repetition period distributions are
compared directly to those of rising tone chorus wave elements and found
to be similar in the night, dawn and day MLT sectors, suggesting chorus
wave repetition periods are likely directly controlling those of
microburst precipitation. However, dusk-side distributions differ,
indicating that the dusk-side microbursts properties may be controlled
by other processes.