This project is focused on the over-arching science question, do large scale monochromatic (LSM) ultra low frequency (ULF) waves routinely produce non-diffusive behavior in the earth s outer…

This is a grant awarded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Shared Services Center to the Space Science Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Boulder, Colorado. The $252,516.00 grant is for a research project focused on understanding whether large-scale monochromatic ultra-low frequency waves in the Earth's outer electron radiation belt produce non-diffusive behavior. The research combines satellite observations and computer simulations to study three specific non-diffusive phenomena: drift resonance, bulk radial transport faster than radial diffusion, and radially localized phase space density peaks. The grant does not have a set-aside designation. This research supports NASA's science mission by advancing knowledge of the complex dynamics of the Earth's radiation belts.

This project is focused on the over-arching science question, do large scale monochromatic (LSM) ultra low frequency (ULF) waves routinely produce non-diffusive behavior in the earth s outer electron radiation belt? We are combining observations and simulations to confirm the presence/absence of three non-diffusive behaviors during LSM ULF wave events driven by solar wind fluctuations: (1) drift resonance, (2) bulk radial transport on timescales faster than radial diffusion, and (3) radially localized phase space density (PSD) peaks. Our primary datasets are energetic particle data from the magnetic electron ION spectrometer (mageis) instrument on NASA s van allen probes spacecraft and output from the comprehensive inner magnetosphere-ionosphere (cimi) model coupled with the block adaptive tree solar wind ROE upwind scheme (batsrus) model supplemented with other satellite and ground-based measurements. By comparing measurements and simulation output in a large event ensemble, the proposed study will provide critical new information about the applicability of the radial diffusion approximation in radiation belt models.