EPP

The triangulation of red sprites was obtained, based on concurrent observations over a mesoscale convective system (MCS) in North China from two stations separated by about 450 km. In addition, broadband sferics from the sprite-producing lightning were measured at five ground stations, making it possible to locate and identify the individual causative lightning discharges for different elements in this dancing sprite event. The results of our analyses indicate that the sprites were produced above the trailing stratiform region of the MCS, and their parent strokes were located mainly in the peripheral area of the stratiform. The lateral offset between sprites and causative strokes ranges from a few km to more than 50 km. In a particularly bright sprite, with a distinct halo feature and streamers descending down to an altitude of approximately 48 km, the sprite current signal identified in the electric sferic, measured at a range of about 1,110 km, peaked at approximately 1 ms after the return stroke.

Using the wave measurements from the EMFISIS instrument onboard Van Allen Probes, we investigate statistically the spatial distributions of the intensity of plasmaspheric hiss waves. To reproduce the statistical results of plasmaspheric hiss distribution, we establish a third-order polynomial function of L-shell, magnetic local time (MLT), magnetic latitude (MLAT) and AE^* as the fitting model. Quantitative comparisons indicate that the empirical model in terms of fitted functions can reflect favorably the major features of the global distribution of hiss wave intensity including the MLT asymmetry and substorm dependence. Our results therefore provide an empirically useful analytic model to be readily used for future global simulations of radiation belt electron dynamics under the impact of plasmaspheric hiss waves in geospace.

As a dispersive wave mode produced by lightning strokes, tweek atmospherics provide important hints of lower ionospheric (i.e., D-region) electron density. Based on data accumulation from the WHU ELF/VLF receiver system, we develop an automatic detection module in terms of the maximum-entropy-spectral-estimation (MESE) method to identify unambiguous instances of low latitude tweeks. We justify the feasibility of our procedure through a detailed analysis of the data observed at the Suizhou Station (31.57°N, 113.32°E) on 17 February 2016. A total of 3961 tweeks were registered by visual inspection; the automatic detection method captured 4342 tweeks, of which 3361 were correct ones, producing a correctness percentage of 77.4% (= 3361/4342) and a false alarm rate of 22.6% (= 981/4342). A Short-Time Fourier Transformation (STFT) was also applied to trace the power spectral profiles of identified tweeks and to evaluate the tweek propagation distance. It is found that the fitting accuracy of the frequency–time curve and the relative difference of propagation distance between the two methods through the slope and through the intercept can be used to further improve the accuracy of automatic tweek identification. We suggest that our automatic tweek detection and analysis method therefore supplies a valuable means to investigate features of low latitude tweek atmospherics and associated ionospheric parameters comprehensively.

Whistler-mode chorus waves are regarded as an important acceleration mechanism contributing to the formation of relativistic and ultra-relativistic electrons in the Jovian radiation belts. Quantitative determination of the chorus wave driven electron scattering effect in the Jovian magnetosphere requires detailed information of both ambient magnetic field and plasma density and wave spectral property, which however cannot be always readily acquired from observations of existed missions to Jupiter. We therefore perform a comprehensive analysis of the sensitivity of chorus induced electron scattering rates to ambient magnetospheric and wave parameters in the Jovian radiation belts to elaborate to which extent the diffusion coefficients depend on a number of key input parameters. It is found that quasi-linear electron scattering rates by chorus can be strongly affected by the ambient magnetic field intensity, the wave latitudinal coverage, and the peak frequency and bandwidth of the wave spectral distribution in the Jovian magnetosphere, while they only rely slightly on the background plasma density profile and the peak wave normal angle, especially when the wave emissions are confined at lower latitudes. Given the chorus wave amplitude, chorus induced electron scattering rates strongly depend on Jovian L-shell to exhibit a tendency approximately proportional to L_J³. Our comprehensive analysis explicitly demonstrates the importance of reliable information of both the ambient magnetospheric state and wave distribution property to understanding the dynamic electron evolution in the Jovian radiation belts and therefore has implications for future mission planning to explore the extreme particle radiation environment of Jupiter and its satellites.

Wave-particle interactions triggered by whistler-mode chorus waves are an important contributor to the Jovian radiation belt electron dynamics. While the sensitivity of chorus-driven electron scattering to the ambient magnetospheric and wave parameters has been investigated, there is rather limited understanding regarding the extent to which the dynamic evolution of Jovian radiation belt electrons, under the impact of chorus wave scattering, depends on the electron distribution profiles. We adopt a group of reasonable initial conditions based upon the available observations and models for quantitative analyses. We find that inclusion of pitch angle variation in initial conditions can result in increased electron losses at lower pitch angles and substantially modify the pitch angle evolution profiles of > ~500 keV electrons, while variations of electron energy spectrum tend to modify the evolution primarily of 1 MeV and 5 MeV electrons. Our results explicitly demonstrate the importance to the radiation belt electron dynamics in the Jovian magnetosphere of the initial shape of the electron phase space density, and indicate the extent to which variations in electron energy spectrum and pitch angle distribution can contribute to the evolution of Jovian radiation belt electrons caused by chorus wave scattering.