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Title: Determining Plasmaspheric Density From the Upper Hybrid Resonance and From the Spacecraft Potential: How Do They Compare?

Journal Article · · Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7]
  1. Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (United States); Univ. of Texas at San Antonio, TX (United States)
  2. Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City, IA (United States)
  3. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
  4. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  5. Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)
  6. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  7. Univ. of New Hampshire, Durham, NH (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

The plasmasphere is a critical region of the magnetosphere. It is important for the evolution of Earth's radiation belts. Waves in the plasmasphere interior (hiss) and vicinity (electromagnetic ion cyclotron, chorus) help control the acceleration and loss of radiation belt particles. Thus, understanding the extent, structure, content, and dynamics of the plasmasphere is crucial to understanding radiation belt losses. The Van Allen Probes mission uses two methods to determine the total plasma density. First, the upper hybrid resonance frequency can provide electron density; this determination is the most accurate and robust. However, it requires significant analysis and is challenging during geomagnetically active times: It becomes difficult to interpret the wave spectrum, and the amount of available data is severely limited. Second, the spacecraft potential is a proxy for the plasma density. These high-resolution measurements are available with high duty cycle. However, environmental effects can limit the accuracy of this method. The relation between spacecraft potential and density is empirical, requiring an independent density measurement and repeated checks. Here we perform a quantitative comparison of these two in situ techniques during the first 3.5 years of the Van Allen Probes mission. We show how to calibrate potential-based density measurements using only publicly available wave-derived densities to provide high-fidelity results even if upper hybrid measurements are sparse or unavailable. We quantify the level of uncertainty to expect from potential-derived density data. Our approach can be applied to any in situ spacecraft mission where reliable absolute density and spacecraft potential data are available.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1833920
Journal Information:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Geophysical Research. Space Physics Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 125; ISSN 2169-9380
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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