Statistical modeling of in situ hiss amplitudes using ground measurements

Abstract

Plasmaspheric hiss is a naturally occurring extremely low frequency electromagnetic emission that is often observed within the Earth's plasmasphere. Plasmaspheric hiss plays a major role in the scattering and loss of electrons from the Earth's radiation belts, thereby contributing to the maintenance of the slot region between the inner and outer electron belt. Traditionally, in situ satellite observations have been the measurement modality of choice for studies of plasmaspheric hiss due to their ability to directly measure the hiss source region. However, satellite studies are relatively short-lived and very few satellite receivers remain operational for an entire 11-year solar cycle. Ground stations, in contrast, may collect multiple solar cycles' worth of data during their lifetime, yet they cannot directly measure the hiss source region. This study aims to determine the extent to which measurements of hiss at midlatitude ground stations may be used to predict the mean amplitude of in situ measurements of plasmaspheric hiss. We use coincident measurements between Palmer Station, Antarctica (L=2.4, 50°S invariant latitude) and the THEMIS spacecraft from June 2008 through May 2010, during solar minimum. Using an autoregressive multiple regression model, we show that in the local time sector from 00