Quantitative Assessment of GOES 8–15 > ${ >} $0.6 and > ${ >} $4 MeV Radiation Belt Electron Fluxes
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: On Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) 8–15 (1996–2020), the Energetic Particle Sensor (EPS) included three integral electron channels, with nominal lower energies of 0.6 MeV (E1), 2 MeV (E2) and 4 MeV (E3). The 2 MeV channel has received more attention than the other two channels, because it is used by the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center for its radiation belt real‐time alerts, and because the characterizations of E1 and E3 were ambiguous, due in part to processing changes between GOES‐12 and ‐13. This paper reports the first cross‐calibration of EPS E1 and E3 with the new Magnetospheric Particle Sensor—High Energy (MPS‐HI) (first flown on GOES‐16). It is based on observations from 2019, when GOES‐15 and ‐17 were separated by 0.6 hr local time on average. The channel response functions ( sr vs. energy) were used three ways: in a bowtie analysis using the method used for the GOES‐17 calibrations; in forward‐model analyses to predict rates for comparison with observations; and in a spectral inversion for comparison of differential energy spectra from the two instruments. The results show that the GOES 13–15 characterizations were more accurate than the GOES 8–12 characterizations, and the bowtie characterization of E3 is still more accurate, while the GOES 13–15 characterization of E1 should continue to be used. The EPS E1 bias with respect to MPS‐HI is 69%. In the E3 energy range, the EPS fluxes are lower than MPS‐HI, from a factor of 2 at 3 MeV to a factor of 5 at 4.4 MeV.
Source: Space Weather
DOI: 10.1029/2024sw004228
Authors: J. V. Rodriguez, M. H. Denton, A. Boudouridis
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,000
Awards: G2282039835, THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO ADVANCE A CURRENTLY EXISTING MODEL OF THE ELECTRON AND ION FLUXES IN THE INNER MAGNETOSPHERE BY EXTENDING THE SPATIAL COVERAGE TO L2-7 AND EXTENDING THE ENERGY COVERAGE TO 0.001-2000 KEV. THE PROJECT WILL BUILD ON THE FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY OF A FREELY-AVAILABLE AND INDEPENDENTLY-TESTED MODEL THAT CURRENTLY DELIVERS FORECASTS OF THE ION AND ELECTRON FLUXES AT GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT (GEO) LDENTON ET AL. 2015; DENTON ET AL. 2016]. SINCE ITS DEVELOPMENT THE MODEL HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY UTILIZED BY A VARIETY OF GROUPS IN THE COMMUNITY WITH A SCIENCE OPERATIONS AND COMMERCIAL FOCUS., G8023640085
OpenAlex ID: W4408334503