Space Physics Seminar Winter-2018

Earth's radiation belt electrons were the first scientific discovery of the space age, yet understanding the nature and extreme variability of radiation belt electrons continues to challenge researchers. In the past decade, three NASA missions have contributed many new insights on the nature of the radiation belts: THEMIS, Van Allen Probes, and MMS. This talk highlights recent observational results from the THEMIS, Van Allen Probes, and MMS mission concerning Earth's radiation belt electrons. In particular, the talk focuses on: extreme variability and the effects of geomagnetic storms; flux "dropouts" and their relationship to multiple intensity peaks in the radial profile of the outer radiation belt; the dominant acceleration mechanism of outer radiation belt electrons and the importance of substorm activity for enabling source processes; new and unexpected discoveries concerning electrons in the inner radiation belt; and the global structure and morphology of the full electron radiation belt system.