The plasmasphere during a space weather event: first results from the PLASMON project

Abstract

The results of the first 18 months of the PLASMON project are presented. We have extended our three, existing ground-based measuring networks, AWDANet (VLF/whistlers), EMMA/SANSA (ULF/FLRs), and AARDDVARK (VLF/perturbations on transmitters’ signal), by three, eight, and four new stations, respectively. The extended networks will allow us to achieve the four major scientific goals, the automatic retrieval of equatorial electron densities and density profiles of the plasmasphere by whistler inversion, the retrieval of equatorial plasma mass densities by EMMA and SANSA from FLRs, developing a new, data assimilative model of plasmasphere and validating the model predictions through comparison of modeled REP losses with measured data by AARDDVARK network. The first results on each of the four objectives are presented through a case study on a space weather event, a dual storm sudden commencement which occurred on August 3 and 4, 2010.

Keywords

• plasmasphere
• whistler
• FLR
• data assimilation
• relativistic electron precipitation