We present observations that provide the strongest evidence yet that discrete whistler mode chorus packets cause relativistic electron microbursts. On 20 January 2016 near 1944 UT the low Earth orbiting CubeSat Focused Investigations of Relativistic Electron Bursts: Intensity, Range, and Dynamics (FIREBIRD II) observed energetic microbursts (near L = 5.6 and MLT = 10.5) from its lower limit of 220 keV, to 1 MeV. In the outer radiation belt and magnetically conjugate, Van Allen Probe A observed rising‐tone, lower band chorus waves with durations and cadences similar to the microbursts. No other waves were observed. This is the first time that chorus and microbursts have been simultaneously observed with a separation smaller than a chorus packet. A majority of the microbursts do not have the energy dispersion expected for trapped electrons bouncing between mirror points. This confirms that the electrons are rapidly (nonlinearly) scattered into the loss cone by a coherent interaction with the large amplitude (up to ∼900 pT) chorus. Comparison of observed time‐averaged microburst flux and estimated total electron drift shell content at L = 5.6 indicate that microbursts may represent a significant source of energetic electron loss in the outer radiation belt.

We present simulations of the loss of radiation belt electrons by resonant pitch angle diffusion caused by whistler mode hiss waves for March 2013. Pitch angle diffusion coefficients are computed from the wave properties and the ambient plasma data obtained by the Van Allen Probes with a resolution of 8 h and 0.1 L shell. Loss rates follow a complex dynamic structure, imposed by the wave and plasma properties. Hiss effects can be strong, with minimum lifetimes (of ~1 day) moving from energies of ~100 keV at L ~ 5 up to ~2 MeV at L ~ 2 and stop abruptly, similarly to the observed energy‐dependent inner belt edge. Periods when the plasmasphere extends beyond L ~ 5 favor long‐lasting hiss losses from the outer belt. Such loss rates are embedded in a reduced Fokker‐Planck code and validated against Magnetic Electron and Ion Spectrometer observations of the belts at all energy. Results are complemented with a sensitivity study involving different radial diffusion and lifetime models. Validation is carried out globally at all L shells and energies. The good agreement between simulations and observations demonstrates that hiss waves drive the slot formation during quiet times. Combined with transport, they sculpt the energy structure of the outer belt into an “S shape.” Low energy electrons (<0.3 MeV) are less subject to hiss scattering below L = 4. In contrast, 0.3–1.5 MeV electrons evolve in an environment that depopulates them as they migrate from L ~ 5 to L ~ 2.5. Ultrarelativistic electrons are not affected by hiss losses until L ~ 2–3.

The evolution of the radiation belts in L‐shell (L), energy (E), and equatorial pitch angle (α ₀) is analyzed during the calm 11‐day interval (4–15 March) following the 1 March 2013 storm. Magnetic Electron and Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS) observations from Van Allen Probes are interpreted alongside 1D and 3D Fokker‐Planck simulations combined with consistent event‐driven scattering modeling from whistler mode hiss waves. Three (L, E, α ₀) regions persist through 11 days of hiss wave scattering; the pitch angle‐dependent inner belt core (L ~ <2.2 and E < 700 keV), pitch angle homogeneous outer belt low‐energy core (L > ~5 and E~ < 100 keV), and a distinct pocket of electrons (L ~ [4.5, 5.5] and E ~ [0.7, 2] MeV). The pitch angle homogeneous outer belt is explained by the diffusion coefficients that are roughly constant for α ₀ ~ 100 keV, 3.5 < L < L _pp ~ 6. Thus, observed unidirectional flux decays can be used to estimate local pitch angle diffusion rates in that region. Top‐hat distributions are computed and observed at L ~ 3–3.5 and E = 100–300 keV.

We present Van Allen Probe observations of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves triggered solely due to individual substorm‐injected ions in the absence of storms or compressions of the magnetosphere during 9 August 2015. The time at which the injected ions are observed directly corresponds to the onset of EMIC waves at the location of Van Allen Probe A (L = 5.5 and 18:06 magnetic local time). The injection was also seen at geosynchronous orbit by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite and Los Alamos National Laboratory spacecraft, and the westward(eastward) drift of ions(electrons) was monitored by Los Alamos National Laboratory spacecraft at different local times. The azimuthal location of the injection was determined by tracing the injection signatures backward in time to their origin assuming a dipolar magnetic field of Earth. The center of this injection location was determined to be close to ∼20:00 magnetic local time. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite and ground magnetometer responses confirm substorm onset at approximately the same local time. The observed EMIC wave onsets at Van Allen Probe were also associated with a magnetic field decrease. The arrival of anisotropic ions along with the decrease in the magnetic field favors the growth of the EMIC wave instability based on linear theory analysis.

Prompt enhancement of relativistic electron flux at L = 3–5 has been reported from Van Allen Probes Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope (REPT) measurements associated with the 17 March 2015 interplanetary shock compression of the dayside magnetosphere. Acceleration by ∼1 MeV is inferred on less than a drift timescale as seen in prior shock compression events, which launch a magnetosonic azimuthal electric field impulse tailward. This impulse propagates from the dayside around the flanks accelerating electrons in drift resonance at the dusk flank. Such longitudinally localized acceleration events produce a drift echo signature which was seen at >1 MeV energy on both Van Allen Probe spacecraft, with sustained observations by Probe B outbound at L = 5 at 2100 MLT at the time of impulse arrival, measured by the Electric Fields and Waves instrument. MHD test particle simulations are presented which reproduce drift echo features observed in the REPT measurements at Probe B, including the energy and pitch angle dependence of drift echoes observed. While the flux enhancement was short lived for this event due to subsequent inward motion of the magnetopause, stronger events with larger electric field impulses, as observed in March 1991 and the Halloween 2003 storm, produce enhancements which can be quantified by the inward radial transport and energization determined by the induction electric field resulting from dayside compression.

Geomagnetic storms are large space weather events with potentially tremendous societal implications. During these storms, the transfer of energy from the solar wind into geospace is largely increased, leading to enhanced energy flow and deposition within the magnetosphere and ionosphere. While various energy forms participate, the rate of total Alfvén wave energy flowing into the auroral acceleration region—where the magnetosphere and ionosphere couple—has not been quantified. Here, we report a fourfold increase in hemispherical Alfvénic power (from 2.59 to 10.05 GW) over a largely expanded oval band covering all longitudes and latitudes between 50° and 85° during the main storm phase compared with nonstorm periods. The Poynting flux associated with individual Alfvén waves reached values of up to about 0.5 W/m² (mapped to ionospheric altitude). These results demonstrate that Alfvén waves are an important component of geomagnetic storms and associated energy flow into the auroral acceleration region.