Abstract
Electron loss to the atmosphere plays a critical role in driving the dynamics of the Earth's Van Allen radiation belts and slot region. This chapter is a review of atmospheric loss of radiation belt electrons caused by plasma wave scattering via Doppler-shifted cyclotron resonance. In particular, the focus is on observational signatures of electron loss, which include direct measurements of precipitating electrons, measured properties of waves that drive precipitation, and variations in the trapped population resulting from loss. We discuss wave and precipitation measurements from recent missions, including simultaneous multipayload observations, which have provided new insight into the dynamic nature of the radiation belts.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Dynamic Loss of Earth's Radiation Belts |
| Subtitle of host publication | From Loss in the Magnetosphere to Particle Precipitation in the Atmosphere |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Pages | 49-98 |
| Number of pages | 50 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780128133996 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780128133712 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 6 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords
- Cyclotron resonance
- Inner magnetosphere
- Precipitation
- Radiation belts
- Wave-particle interactions