Observations and statistics of the plasmasphere boundaries from the Van Allen Probes

We deduce the cold electron plasma density from NASA Van Allen Probes measurements throughout 2012-2019. We then extract two of the plasmasphere boundaries. We first use the gradient method for locating the plasmapause at L pp and, then, the 100\mathrm{~cm}^{-3} density threshold for the plasmaspher...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in2023 XXXVth General Assembly and Scientific Symposium of the International Union of Radio Science (URSI GASS) pp. 1 - 4
Main Authors Ripoll, J.-F., Thaller, S. A., Hartley, D. P., Cunningham, G. S., Pierrard, V., Kurth, W. S., Kletzing, C. A., Wygant, J. R.
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published International Union of Radio Science 19.08.2023
Subjects
Gradient methods
Indexes
Labeling
NASA
Plasma measurements
Space vehicles
Uncertainty
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Summary:We deduce the cold electron plasma density from NASA Van Allen Probes measurements throughout 2012-2019. We then extract two of the plasmasphere boundaries. We first use the gradient method for locating the plasmapause at L pp and, then, the 100\mathrm{~cm}^{-3} density threshold for the plasmasphere outer edge located at L 100 . The sharp gradient of the plasmapause is only defined in 53% of cases, while L 100 is defined for \sim 85\% of cases. Differences and similarities between L pp and L 100 are discussed. L 100 is demonstrated to bound the plasmasphere at large L-shell in the dusk where L pp gradients often lack. We generate new empirical density models of the plasmasphere boundaries binned by L-shell, magnetic local time (MLT), and the maximum of the Kp index over 24 hours (Kp*).
ISSN:2642-4339
DOI:10.23919/URSIGASS57860.2023.10265488