Unraveling the Mystery of Earth's Space Radiation Environment Loss Processes: Meeting Report

Abstract On 10 June and 27 September 2024, two workshops were held at GFZ Potsdam under the umbrella of the Geo. X Research Network of Geosciences to discuss the unresolved question of the overestimation and lack of scattering of modeled ring current electrons during geomagnetic storms. At the workshops, we discussed the potential contributions to the lack of scattering of electron cyclotron harmonic (ECH) waves, chorus waves, time‐domain‐structures (TDS), the non‐linear effects of wave‐particle interactions, and induced electric fields. A case study shows that the scattering by ECH waves is insufficient to account fully for the missing electron loss. More work must be done to understand the potential effects of inaccuracies in the assumed chorus wave models, TDS, and the non‐linear effects of wave‐particle interactions. Including induced electric fields in ring current simulations is an important step to describe the electron drifts more accurately. Explaining the missing loss process is crucial for space weather applications of surface charging effects, which rely on accurate predictions of ring current electron fluxes.