Effect of Electron Precipitation on the Position of the Outer Electron Radiation Belt

The authors consider variations of the trapped and precipitating electron fluxes of the Earth’s outer radiation belt during the period of November 6–13, 2015. Numerous substorms during the main phase and the prolonged recovery phase of the moderate magnetic storm on November 6, 2015, led to multiple injections of particles into the inner magnetosphere. The profiles of the outer radiation belt for energetic electrons (with energies above 0.1, 0.3 and 2 MeV) are reconstructed from Van Allen Probes-A measurements in the pre-noon and evening MLT sectors. The use of data of electron fluxes in the orbits of polar satellites Meteor-M2, POES-18, and POES-19 allows the areas of precipitation in all MLT sectors to be determined. It is shown that electron precipitation events are not local processess. During the main phase of the storm and the periods of substorm activations, energetic electron precipitation events with energy above 0.1 MeV occur in all local times and at distances of L ∼ 3.5 to L ∼ 8. In the pre-noon sector, precipitation events are observed at more distant L-shells than in the evening sector, indicating different types of wave activity that scatter particles in those areas. Energetic electron precipitation in both the pre-noon and evening sectors causes electron losses mainly in the outer areas of the belt, shifting the belt maximum inward.