Science Daily May 26, 2021
In recent years, however, a growing body of experimental evidence has shown that EMIC waves can cause the scattering loss of electrons down to sub-MeV energies. Using measurements of trapped electron flux from the GPS satellite constellation, an international team of researchers (New Zealand, UK, USA – Los Alamos National Laboratory) investigated the ability of EMIC waves to cause significant depletions of radiation belt electron populations. They presented statistical evidence demonstrating global decreases in sub-MeV trapped electron flux in response to EMIC wave activity. Although they found that electron losses extend down to sub-MeV energies, they showed strong statistical support for the ability of EMIC waves to preferentially cause substantial depletions of ultra-relativistic electrons in the radiation belts. According to the researchers the impact of EMIC-driven electrons on atmospheric chemistry is not currently being included by major climate models, which try to predict how the Earth’s climate will change over time, so making sure this process is understood and included in these models is very important…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ