THIS PROJECT IS FOCUSED ON A SINGLE OBJECTIVE DETERMINE THE PROPERTIES OF MAGNETOSPHERE MAGNETOHYDYNAMIC (MHD) FAST MODE WAVES (FMW) OUTSIDE THE PLASMASPHERE DURING DIFFERENT DRIVING CONDITIONS AIMED AT ANSWERING TWO SCIENCE QUESTIONS: HOW IS MAGNETOSPHERE FMW ENERGY DISTRIBUTED OUTSIDE THE PLASMSPHERE AS FUNCTION OF FREQUENCY AND DRIVING CONDITION? HOW LARGE ARE TYPICAL FMW AMPLITUDES COMPARED TO OTHER ULF WAVES MODES? OBSERVATIONAL CONSTRAINTS ARE NEEDED TO TEST THERE THERORIES ON FMW AND ASSESS THE ROLE OF THESE WAVES IN RADIATION BELT INTERACTIONS BUT SUCH CONSTRAINTS ARE LIMITED AS IT IS OFTEN NOT POSSIBLE TO UNAMBIGUOUSLY IDENTIFY FMW IN WARMER PLASMA OUTSIDE THE PLASMASPHERE WITHOUT THERMAL PRESSURE MEASUREMENTS. THIS PROJECT USES NEARLY A DECADE OF WELL INSTRUMENTED MULTI-POINT NASA TIME HISTORY OF EVENTS MACROSCALE INTERACTIONS DURING SUBSTORMS (THEMIS) SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS FROM MULTIPLE INSTRUMENTS TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE.
$183,984FY2020National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA
Space Science Institute, Boulder CO