Impact of interplanetary shocks on the radiation belt environment measured by a low altitude satellite

Abstract

We use electron flux data measured by the Energetic Particle Telescope (EPT) onboard the Proba-V satellite in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to investigate the radiation belt response to the interplanetary shock arrival. Altogether, as many as 31 interplanetary shocks selected from the OMNI data during 2013-2018 are investigated.

While the radiation belt fluxes are nearly unaffected by the shock arrival in some cases, other events reveal a sudden drop of energetic electron fluxes spanning over a broad range of L-shells. Electron flux changes at various L-shells and energies are evaluated and compared with the solar wind dynamic pressure change across the shock front, magnetopause location, and z-component of the interplanetary magnetic field.

The aim is to identify parameters governing the radiation belt response to the interplanetary shock passage and to understand the strikingly different responses to the seemingly similar solar wind variations.