Full Record - Pitch angle distributions, loss timescales and diffusion coefficients for the Earth's radiation belts

Pitch angle distributions, loss timescales and diffusion coefficients for the Earth's radiation belts

GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01834

Abstract:
Drift-averaged pitch angle diffusion coefficients, and derived pitch angle distributions and loss timescales for electrons with energies from 100 keV to 4 MeV, L* in the range 2 to 7 and geomagnetic activity determined by the Kp index. The pitch angle distributions and loss timescales, for use in radiation belt models, are calculated from the diffusion coefficients assuming pure pitch angle diffusion and steady decay of the distribution.

Funding was provided by NERC grant NE/V00249X/1 (Sat-Risk)

Citation:
Glauert, S., & Ross, J. (2024). Pitch angle distributions, loss timescales and diffusion coefficients for the Earth's radiation belts (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/6d20ed7b-59e1-4284-a6f2-3e2589da6d2a

Access Data

License

Use:	This data is covered by a UK Open Government Licence (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/). Further by downloading this data the user acknowledges that they agree with the NERC data policy (http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/sites/data/policy.asp), and the following conditions:

Authors

Name	UK Polar Data Centre
Role(s)	Metadata Author
Organisation	British Antarctic Survey

Name	Dr Sarah Glauert
Role(s)	Investigator
Organisation	British Antarctic Survey

Name	Jack W Atkinson
Role(s)	Investigator
Organisation	University of Cambridge

Name	Dr Johnathan P J Ross
Role(s)	Investigator
Organisation	British Antarctic Survey

Name	Prof Richard Horne
Role(s)	Investigator
Organisation	British Antarctic Survey

Basic Information

Creation Date:	2024-04-05
Dataset Progress:	Complete
Dataset Language:	English
ISO Topic Categories:	Climatology/Meteorology/Atmosphere
Parameters:	Sun-earth Interactions > Solar Activity Sun-earth Interactions > Solar Energetic Particle Flux

Additional Information

Reference:	Associated publication: S.A. Glauert, J.W. Atkinson, R.B. Horne and J.P. Ross, (in review), A new model for electron pitch angle distributions and loss timescales in the Earth's radiation belts Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. Methodology references: Albert, J. M. (1994). Quasi-linear pitch angle diffusion coefficients: Retaining high harmonics. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, 99(A12), 23741-23745. https://doi.org/10.1029/94JA02345 L* in spatial coverage determined using the Olson-Pfitzer model [Olson, W. P., & Pfitzer, K. A., 1977. Magnetospheric magnetic field modeling. Mc- Donnell Douglas Astronautics Co., Huntington Beach, California.].
Quality:	Only model output is provided.
Lineage/Methodology:	The modelling used to create the dataset is detailed in Glauert et al., (JGR, 2024). Pitch angle diffusion coefficients describing wave-electron interactions for all the VLF waves commonly observed in the radiation belts were created by combining results from multiple publications. Using these, pitch angle distributions and loss timescales were calculated following the approach from Albert (1994, doi: 10.1029/94JA02345), using the routine D02GAF from the Numerical Algorithms Group (NAG) Library to solve the equations. This results in three data sets: pitch angle diffusion coefficients that vary with pitch angle, energy, L* and geomagnetic activity (defined by the Kp index) and corresponding pitch angle distributions and loss timescales. Funding: NERC grant NE/V00249X/1 (Sat-Risk)

Extent

Location:
Location	N/A
Detailed Location	2 <= L* <= 7 with L* determined using the Olson-Pfitzer model

Data Collection:	Only model output is provided.

Storage

Data Storage:	3 data files. Each file is plain text with a header describing the layout of the contents. Glauert2024_PitchAngleDiffusionCoefficients.dat (30 MB) Glauert2024_PitchAngleDistributions.dat (1.3 MB) Glauert2024_LossTimescales.dat (37 KB)

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