HR: 1330h
AN: SM23C-06    [Abstracts]
TI: Preliminary Electric Field Results From A Multiple Balloon Campaign to Study Relativistic Electron Loss
AU: * Bering, E A
EM: ebering@mail.uh.edu
AF: University of Houston, Department of Physics 617 Science and Research I, Houston, TX 77204-5005 United States
AU: Kokorowski, M
EM: mkoko@ess.washington.edu
AF: University of Washington, Dept. of Earth and Space Sciences, Seattle, WA 98195 United States
AU: Holzworth, R H
EM: bobholz@ess.washington.edu
AF: University of Washington, Dept. of Earth and Space Sciences, Seattle, WA 98195 United States
AU: Sample, J G
EM: jsample@ssl.berkeley.edu
AF: University of California at Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 93923 United States
AU: McCarthy, M P
EM: mccarthy@geophys.washington.edu
AF: University of Washington, Dept. of Earth and Space Sciences, Seattle, WA 98195 United States
AU: Smith, D M
EM: dsmith@scipp.ucsc.edu
AF: University of California at Santa Cruz, SCIPP, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 United States
AU: Parks, G K
EM: parks@ssl.berkeley.edu
AF: University of California at Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 93923 United States
AU: Millan, R M
EM: Robyn.Millan@dartmouth.edu
AF: Dartmouth College, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Hanover, NH 03755 United States
AU: Woodger, L
EM: Leslie.Woodger@dartmouth.edu
AF: Dartmouth College, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Hanover, NH 03755 United States
AU: Reddell, B D
EM: brandon.d.reddell@boeing.com
AF: University of Houston, Department of Physics 617 Science and Research I, Houston, TX 77204-5005 United States
AU: Lay, E
EM: erinlay@ess.washington.edu
AF: University of Washington, Dept. of Earth and Space Sciences, Seattle, WA 98195 United States
AU: Bale, S D
EM: bale@ssl.berkeley.edu
AF: University of California at Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 93923 United States
AU: Pulupa, M
EM: mpulupa@ssl.berkeley.edu
AF: University of California at Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 93923 United States
AU: O'Brien, T P
EM: Paul.OBrien@aero.org
AF: Aerospace Corporation, Box 92957, Los Angeles, CA 90009-2957 United States
AU: Blake, J B
EM: JBernard.Blake@aero.org
AF: Aerospace Corporation, Box 92957, Los Angeles, CA 90009-2957 United States
AU: Lin, R P
EM: rlin@ssl.berkeley.edu
AF: University of California at Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 93923 United States
AU: Moraal, H
EM: fskhm@puk.ac.za
AF: North-West University, School of Physics, Potschefstroom, 2520 South Africa
AU: Stoker, P
EM: fskhm@puk.ac.za
AF: North-West University, School of Physics, Potschefstroom, 2520 South Africa
AU: Hughes, A R
EM: hughes@nu.ac.za
AF: University of Natal, Physics Department, Durban, 4001 South Africa
AU: Collier, A B
EM: colliera@nu.ac.za
AF: University of Natal, Physics Department, Durban, 4001 South Africa
AB: The MINIS balloon campaign was successfully conducted in January 2005 to investigate relativistic electron loss mechanisms. Quantifying and understanding losses is an integral part of understanding the variability of relativistic electrons in the radiation belts. Balloon-based experiments directly measure precipitation and thus provide a method for quantifying losses, while the nearly stationary platform allows for the separation of temporal and spatial variations. A new class of precipitation event, characterized by extremely hard spectra, short durations, and complex temporal structure, occurring in the evening to midnight sector, was discovered by the INTERBOA balloon in 1996 and studied further by the MAXIS balloon in 2000. The MINIS campaign provided the first opportunities for multi-point measurements of electron precipitation up to MeV energies, including simultaneous measurements at different longitudes and at near-conjugate locations. Two balloons, each carrying an X-ray spectrometer for measuring the bremsstrahlung produced as electrons precipitate into the atmosphere, were launched from Churchill, Manitoba at 0850 UT on 21 January 2005 and 0140 UT on 25 January 2005. Four balloons, each carrying an X-ray spectrometer, a Z-axis search coil magnetometer, and a 3-axis electric field instrument providing DC electric field and VLF measurements in 3 frequency bands, were launched from the South African Antarctic Station (SANAE IV). The Southern launches took place at 1400 UT on 17 January, 1309 UT on 19 January, 2115 UT on 20 January, and 0950 UT on 24 January 2005. In this paper, we present the preliminary results from the MINIS South electric field instrumentation. We have good DC and VLF electric field data from all payloads, and the payload rotation mechanism worked in all four as well. The campaign began with two large solar flares. In the post-flare environment, some very magnetospherically active periods are included in our data, with strong and variable electric fields.
DE: 2712 Electric fields (2411)
DE: 2716 Energetic particles, precipitating
DE: 2730 Magnetosphere--inner
DE: 2794 Instruments and techniques
SC: SPA-Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly