SM41D-2503
Dynamics of the low energy proton inner belt
Thursday, 17 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Timothy B Guild, The Aerospace Corporation, Chantilly, VA, United States, Joseph E Mazur, Aerospace Corporation Chantilly, Chantilly, VA, United States and J. Bernard Blake, Aerospace Corporation Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Abstract:
We present preliminary results of the trapped low energy (6-32 MeV) proton population in the inner radiation belt (L>1.8) from May, 2008 through present. These observations were made by the High Linear Energy Transfer (HiLET) proton telescope, part of the TWIN-ES instrument suite on the TWINS-2 spacecraft. This collimated telescope measures pitch-angle-resolved proton fluxes as it rises through the inner radiation belt twice per day. In this paper we focus on the inner belt dynamics of low energy protons for 2<L<4. We investigate gradual changes throughout solar cycle 24, impulsive changes correlated with solar and geomagnetic activity, and compare these measurements with concurrent observations from TacSat-4 and Van Allen Probes. A discussion will be devoted to the possible causes of these dynamics.
