Inferring Nighttime Ionospheric Parameters with the Far Ultraviolet Imager Onboard the Ionospheric Connection Explorer

The Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) Far Ultraviolet (FUV) imager, ICON FUV, will measure altitude profiles of OI 135.6 nm emissions to infer nighttime ionospheric parameters. Accurate estimation of the ionospheric state requires the development of a comprehensive radiative transfer model from first principles to quantify the effects of physical processes on the production and transport of the 135.6 nm photons in the ionosphere including the mutual neutralization contribution as well as the effect of resonant scattering by atomic oxygen and pure absorption by oxygen molecules. This forward model is then used in conjunction with a constrained optimization algorithm to invert the anticipated ICON FUV line-of-sight integrated measurements. In this paper, we describe the connection between ICON FUV measurements and the nighttime ionosphere, along with the approach to inverting the measured emission profiles to derive the associated O⁺ profiles from 150–450 km in the nighttime ionosphere that directly reflect the electron density in the F-region of the ionosphere.     

Time-Delay Integration Imaging with ICON’s Far-Ultraviolet Imager

A Time-Delay Integration (TDI) image acquisition and processing system has been developed to capture ICON’s Far Ultraviolet (FUV) Spectrographic Imager data. The TDI system is designed to provide variable-range motion-compensated imaging of Earth’s nightside ionospheric limb and sub-limb scenes viewed from Low Earth Orbit in the 135.6 nm emission of oxygen with an integration time of 12 seconds. As a pre-requisite of the motion compensation the TDI system is also designed to provide corrections for optical distortions generated by the FUV Imager’s optical assembly. On the dayside the TDI system is used to process 135.6 nm and 157.0 nm wavelength altitude profiles simultaneously. We present the TDI system’s design methodology and implementation as an FPGA module with an emphasis on minimization of on-board data throughput and telemetry. We also present the methods and results of testing the TDI system in simulation and with Engineering Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) to validate its performance.

     

Daytime O/N<Subscript>2</Subscript> Retrieval Algorithm for the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON)

The NASA Ionospheric Connection Explorer Far-Ultraviolet spectrometer, ICON FUV, will measure altitude profiles of the daytime far-ultraviolet (FUV) OI 135.6 nm and N₂ Lyman-Birge-Hopfield (LBH) band emissions that are used to determine thermospheric density profiles and state parameters related to thermospheric composition; specifically the thermospheric column O/N₂ ratio (symbolized as \(\Sigma\)O/N₂). This paper describes the algorithm concept that has been adapted and updated from one previously applied with success to limb data from the Global Ultraviolet Imager (GUVI) on the NASA Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) mission. We also describe the requirements that are imposed on the ICON FUV to measure \(\Sigma\)O/N₂ over any 500-km sample in daytime with a precision of better than 8.7%. We present results from orbit-simulation testing that demonstrates that the ICON FUV and our thermospheric composition retrieval algorithm can meet these requirements and provide the measurements necessary to address ICON science objectives.     

Far ultraviolet imaging from the IMAGE spacecraft. 3. Spectral imaging of Lyman-α and OI 135.6 nm

Two FUV Spectral imaging instruments, the Spectrographic Imager (SI) and the Geocorona Photometer (GEO) provide IMAGE with simultaneous global maps of the hydrogen (121.8 nm) and oxygen 135.6 nm components of the terrestrial aurora and with observations of the three dimensional distribution of neutral hydrogen in the magnetosphere (121.6 nm). The SI is a novel instrument type, in which spectral separation and imaging functions are independent of each other. In this instrument, two-dimensional images are produced on two detectors, and the images are spectrally filtered by a spectrograph part of the instrument. One of the two detectors images the Doppler-shifted Lyman- while rejecting the geocoronal `cold Ly-, and another detector images the OI 135.6 nm emission. The spectrograph is an all-reflective Wadsworth configuration in which a grill arrangement is used to block most of the cold, un-Doppler-shifted geocoronal emission at 121.567 nm. The SI calibration established that the upper limit of transmission at cold geocoronal Ly- is less than 2%. The measured light collecting efficiency was 0.01 and 0.008 cm² at 121.8 and at 135.6 nm, respectively. This is consistent with the size of the input aperture, the optical transmission, and the photocathode efficiency. The expected sensitivity is 1.8×10^–2 and 1.3×10^–2 counts per Rayleigh per pixel for each 5 s viewing exposure per satellite revolution (120 s). The measured spatial resolution is better than the 128×128 pixel matrix over the 15°×15° field of view in both wavelength channels. The SI detectors are photon counting devices using the cross delay line principle. In each detector a triple stack microchannel plate (MCP) amplifies the photo-electronic charge which is then deposited on a specially configured anode array. The position of the photon event is measured by digitizing the time delay between the pulses detected at each end of the anode structures. This scheme is intrinsically faster than systems that use charge division and it has a further advantage that it saturates more gradually at high count rates. The geocoronal Ly- is measured by a three-channel photometer system (GEO) which is a separate instrument. Each photometer has a built in MgF₂ lens to restrict the field of view to one degree and a ceramic electron multiplier with a KBr photocathode. One of the tubes is pointing radially outward perpendicular to the axis of satellite rotation. The optic of the other two subtend 60° with the rotation axis. These instruments take data continuously at 3 samples per second and rely on the combination of satellite rotation and orbital motion to scan the hydrogen cloud surrounding the earth. The detective efficiencies (effective quantum efficiency including windows) of the three tubes at Ly- are between 6 and 10%.     

Michelson Interferometer for Global High-Resolution Thermospheric Imaging (MIGHTI): Instrument Design and Calibration

The Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging (MIGHTI) instrument was built for launch and operation on the NASA Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) mission. The instrument was designed to measure thermospheric horizontal wind velocity profiles and thermospheric temperature in altitude regions between 90 km and 300 km, during day and night. For the wind measurements it uses two perpendicular fields of view pointed at the Earth’s limb, observing the Doppler shift of the atomic oxygen red and green lines at 630.0 nm and 557.7 nm wavelength. The wavelength shift is measured using field-widened, temperature compensated Doppler Asymmetric Spatial Heterodyne (DASH) spectrometers, employing low order échelle gratings operating at two different orders for the different atmospheric lines. The temperature measurement is accomplished by a multichannel photometric measurement of the spectral shape of the molecular oxygen A-band around 762 nm wavelength. For each field of view, the signals of the two oxygen lines and the A-band are detected on different regions of a single, cooled, frame transfer charge coupled device (CCD) detector. On-board calibration sources are used to periodically quantify thermal drifts, simultaneously with observing the atmosphere. The MIGHTI requirements, the resulting instrument design and the calibration are described.     

The Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer for the MESSENGER Mission

The Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) is one of seven science instruments onboard the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft en route to the planet Mercury. MASCS consists of a small Cassegrain telescope with 257-mm effective focal length and a 50-mm aperture that simultaneously feeds an UltraViolet and Visible Spectrometer (UVVS) and a Visible and InfraRed Spectrograph (VIRS). UVVS is a 125-mm focal length, scanning grating, Ebert-Fastie monochromator equipped with three photomultiplier tube detectors that cover far ultraviolet (115–180 nm), middle ultraviolet (160–320 nm), and visible (250–600 nm) wavelengths with an average 0.6-nm spectral resolution. It will measure altitude profiles of known species in order to determine the composition and structure of Mercury’s exosphere and its variability and will search for previously undetected exospheric species. VIRS is a 210-mm focal length, fixed concave grating spectrograph equipped with a beam splitter that simultaneously disperses the spectrum onto a 512-element silicon visible photodiode array (300–1050 nm) and a 256-element indium-gallium-arsenide infrared photodiode array 850–1,450 nm. It will obtain maps of surface reflectance spectra with a 5-nm resolution in the 300–1,450 nm wavelength range that will be used to investigate mineralogical composition on spatial scales of 5 km. UVVS will also observe the surface in the far and middle ultraviolet at a 10-km or smaller spatial scale. This paper summarizes the science rationale and measurement objectives for MASCS, discusses its detailed design and its calibration requirements, and briefly outlines observation strategies for its use during MESSENGER orbital operations around Mercury.     

Summary of quantitative interpretation of IMAGE far ultraviolet auroral data

Direct imaging of the magnetosphere by instruments on the IMAGE spacecraft is supplemented by simultaneous observations of the global aurora in three far ultraviolet (FUV) wavelength bands. The purpose of the multi-wavelength imaging is to study the global auroral particle and energy input from the magnetosphere into the atmosphere. This paper describes the method for quantitative interpretation of FUV measurements. The Wide-Band Imaging Camera (WIC) provides broad band ultraviolet images of the aurora with maximum spatial resolution by imaging the nitrogen lines and bands between 140 and 180 nm wavelength. The Spectrographic Imager (SI), a dual wavelength monochromatic instrument, images both Doppler-shifted Lyman-α emissions produced by precipitating protons, in the SI-12 channel and OI 135.6 nm emissions in the SI-13 channel. From the SI-12 Doppler shifted Lyman-α images it is possible to obtain the precipitating proton flux provided assumptions are made regarding the mean energy of the protons. Knowledge of the proton (flux and energy) component allows the calculation of the contribution produced by protons in the WIC and SI-13 instruments. Comparison of the corrected WIC and SI-13 signals provides a measure of the electron mean energy, which can then be used to determine the electron energy flux. To accomplish this, reliable emission modeling and instrument calibrations are required. In-flight calibration using early-type stars was used to validate the pre-flight laboratory calibrations and determine long-term trends in sensitivity. In general, very reasonable agreement is found between in-situ measurements and remote quantitative determinations.     

Daytime Ionosphere Retrieval Algorithm for the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON)

The NASA Ionospheric Connection Explorer Extreme Ultraviolet spectrograph, ICON EUV, will measure altitude profiles of the daytime extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) OII emission near 83.4 and 61.7 nm that are used to determine density profiles and state parameters of the ionosphere. This paper describes the algorithm concept and approach to inverting these measured OII emission profiles to derive the associated \(\mathrm{O}^{+}\) density profile from 150–450 km as a proxy for the electron content in the F-region of the ionosphere. The algorithm incorporates a bias evaluation and feedback step, developed at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory using data from the Special Sensor Ultraviolet Limb Imager (SSULI) and the Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric Detection System (RAIDS) missions, that is able to effectively mitigate the effects of systematic instrument calibration errors and inaccuracies in the original photon source within the forward model. Results are presented from end-to-end simulations that convolved simulated airglow profiles with the expected instrument measurement response to produce profiles that were inverted with the algorithm to return data products for comparison to truth. Simulations of measurements over a representative ICON orbit show the algorithm is able to reproduce hmF2 values to better than 5 km accuracy, and NmF2 to better than 12% accuracy over a 12-second integration, and demonstrate that the ICON EUV instrument and daytime ionosphere algorithm can meet the ICON science objectives which require 20 km vertical resolution in hmF2 and 18% precision in NmF2.     

The visible imaging system (VIS) for the polar spacecraft

The Visible Imaging System (VIS) is a set of three low-light-level cameras to be flown on the POLAR spacecraft of the Global Geospace Science (GGS) program which is an element of the International Solar-Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) campaign. Two of these cameras share primary and some secondary optics and are designed to provide images of the nighttime auroral oval at visible wavelengths. A third camera is used to monitor the directions of the fields-of-view of these sensitive auroral cameras with respect to sunlit Earth. The auroral emissions of interest include those from N ₂ ⁺ at 391.4 nm, Oi at 557.7 and 630.0 nm, Hi at 656.3 nm, and Oii at 732.0 nm. The two auroral cameras have different spatial resolutions. These resolutions are about 10 and 20 km from a spacecraft altitude of 8R _e . The time to acquire and telemeter a 256×256-pixel image is about 12 s. The primary scientific objectives of this imaging instrumentation, together with thein-situ observations from the ensemble of ISTP spacecraft, are (1) quantitative assessment of the dissipation of magnetospheric energy into the auroral ionosphere, (2) an instantaneous reference system for thein-situ measurements, (3) development of a substantial model for energy flow within the magnetosphere, (4) investigation of the topology of the magnetosphere, and (5) delineation of the responses of the magnetosphere to substorms and variable solar wind conditions.     

A far ultraviolet imager for the International Solar-Terrestrial Physics Mission

The aurorae are the result of collisions with the atmosphere of energetic particles that have their origin in the solar wind, and reach the atmosphere after having undergone varying degrees of acceleration and redistribution within the Earth's magnetosphere. The global scale phenomenon represented by the aurorae therefore contains considerable information concerning the solar-terrestrial connection. For example, by correctly measuring specific auroral emissions, and with the aid of comprehensive models of the region, we can infer the total energy flux entering the atmosphere and the average energy of the particles causing these emissions. Furthermore, from these auroral emissions we can determine the ionospheric conductances that are part of the closing of the magnetospheric currents through the ionosphere, and from these we can in turn obtain the electric potentials and convective patterns that are an essential element to our understanding of the global magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere-mesosphere. Simultaneously acquired images of the auroral oval and polar cap not only yield the temporal and spatial morphology from which we can infer activity indices, but in conjunction with simultaneous measurements made on spacecraft at other locations within the magnetosphere, allow us to map the various parts of the oval back to their source regions in the magnetosphere. This paper describes the Ultraviolet Imager for the Global Geospace Sciences portion of the International Solar-Terrestrial Physics program. The instrument operates in the far ultraviolet (FUV) and is capable of imaging the auroral oval regardless of whether it is sunlit or in darkness. The instrument has an 8° circular field of view and is located on a despun platform which permits simultaneous imaging of the entire oval for at least 9 hours of every 18 hour orbit. The three mirror, unobscured aperture, optical system (f/2.9) provides excellent imaging over this full field of view, yielding a per pixel angular resolution of 0.6 milliradians. Its FUV filters have been designed to allow accurate spectral separation of the features of interest, thus allowing quantitative interpretation of the images to provide the parameters mentioned above. The system has been designed to provide ten orders of magnitude blocking against longer wavelength (primarily visible) scattered sunlight, thus allowing the first imaging of key, spectrally resolved, FUV diagnostic features in the fully sunlit midday aurorae. The intensified-CCD detector has a nominal frame rate of 37 s, and the fast optical system has a noise equivalent signal within one frame of 10R. The instantaneous dynamic range is >1000 and can be positioned within an overall gain range of 10⁴, allowing measurement of both the very weak polar cap emissions and the very bright aurora. The optical surfaces have been designed to be sufficiently smooth to permit this dynamic range to be utilized without the scattering of light from bright features into the weaker features. Finally, the data product can only be as good as the degree to which the instrument performance is characterized and calibrated. In the VUV, calibration of an an imager intended for quantitative studies is a task requiring some pioneering methods, but it is now possible to calibrate such an instrument over its focal plane to an accuracy of ±10%. In summary, very recent advances in optical, filter and detector technology have been exploited to produce an auroral imager to meet the ISTP objectives.     

HOI延迟对LEO卫星简化动力学POD的影响

通常使用无电离层(IF)线性组合(LC)消除低地球轨道(LEO)卫星简化动力学精密定轨(POD)一阶电离层延迟误差,忽略了高阶电离层(HOI)延迟误差。随着LEO卫星POD技术的发展,计算不同轨道高度的HOI延迟并探索其变化已成为进一步提高POD精度的重要手段。首先,使用国际参考电离层-2016(IRI-2016)和国际地磁参考场第13代(IGRF-13)模型,计算电离层穿刺点(IPP)位置和地磁场强度。其次,使用平滑星载GNSS数据计算电离层斜路径总电子含量(STEC)。然后,分别计算GOCE、GRACE-A和SWARM-A/B卫星的二阶和三阶电离层延迟。最后,评估了HOI延迟对LEO卫星重叠轨道分析、卫星激光测距(SLR)检核和精密科学轨道(PSO)比较结果的影响。实验结果表明：HOI延迟对LEO卫星简化动力学POD的影响大约在毫米至厘米的数量级上;HOI延迟对LEO卫星简化动力学POD外符合精度的影响分别达到0.92,0.22,0.21和0.18 mm;随着LEO卫星轨道高度的增加,HOI延迟对LEO卫星简化动力学POD的影响减小。     

The Freja science mission

Freja ^*, a joint Swedish and German scientific satellite launched on october 6 1992, is designed to give high temporal/spatial resolution measurements of auroral plasma characteristics. A high telemetry rate (520 kbits s^–1) and 15 Mbyte distributed on board memories that give on the average 2 Mbits s^–1 for one minute enablesFreja to resolve meso and micro scale phenomena in the 100 m range for particles and 1–10 m range for electric and magnetic fields. The on-board UV imager resolve auroral structures of kilometer size with a time resolution of one image per 6 s. Novel plasma instruments giveFreja the capability to increase the spatial/temporal resolution orders of magnitudes above that achieved on satellites before. The scientific objective ofFreja is to study the interaction between the hot magnetospheric plasma with the topside atmosphere/ionosphere. This interaction leads to a strong energization of magnetospheric and ionospheric plasma and an associated erosion, and loss, of matter from the Terrestrial exosphere.Freja orbits with an altitude of 600–1750 km, thus covering the lower part of the auroral acceleration region. This altitude range hosts processes that heat and energize the ionospheric plasma above the auroral zone, leading to the escape of ionospheric plasma and the formation of large density cavities.     

The Polar Ionospheric X-ray Imaging Experiment (PIXIE)

The Polar Ionospheric X-ray Imaging Experiment (PIXIE) is an X-ray multiple-pinhole camera designed to image simultaneously an entire auroral region from high altitudes. It will be mounted on the despun platform of the POLAR spacecraft and will measure the spatial distribution and temporal variation of auroral X-ray emissions in the 2 to 60 keV energy range on the day side of the Earth as well as the night. PIXIE consists of two pinhole cameras integrated into one assembly, each equipped with an adjustable aperture plate that allows an optimum number of nonoverlapping images to be formed in the detector plane at each phase of the satellite's eccentric orbit. The aperture plates also allow the pinhole size to be adjusted so that the experimenter can trade off spatial resolution against instrument sensitivity. In the principal mode of operation, one aperture plate will be positioned for high spatial resolution and the other for high sensitivity. The detectors consist of four stacked multiwire position-sensitive proportional counters, two in each of two separate gas chambers. The front chamber operates in the 2–12 keV energy range and the rear chamber in the 10–60 keV range. All of the energy and position information for each telemetered X-ray event is available on the ground. This enables the experimenter to adjust the exposure timepostfacto so that energy spectra of each X-ray emitting region can be independently accumulated. From these data PIXIE will provide, for the first time, global images of precipitated energetic electron spectra, energy inputs, ionospheric electron densities, and upper atmospheric conductivities.     

关于地球转移轨道碎片的轨道寿命问题

低轨卫星的轨道寿命主要取决于大气的耗散作用,其轨道在不断变小(即高度降低)变圆的状态下进入地球稠密大气层中陨落。但地球转移轨道(GTO)碎片的运行轨道是一个近地点高度为200km,远地点高度达36000km的大偏心率(e=0.73)椭圆轨道,其轨道寿命主要由第三体(日、月)引力摄动所决定,而且还与其轨道的初始状态有密切关系。本文将根据地球卫星轨道变化规律进行理论分析,阐明力学机制,并给出相应的数值验证。     

Dayside Proton Aurora: Comparisons between Global MHD Simulations and IMAGE Observations

The IMAGE mission provides a unique opportunity to evaluate the accuracy of current global models of the solar wind interaction with the Earth's magnetosphere. In particular, images of proton auroras from the Far Ultraviolet Instrument (FUV) onboard the IMAGE spacecraft are well suited to support investigations of the response of the Earth's magnetosphere to interplanetary disturbances. Accordingly, we have modeled two events that occurred on June 8 and July 28, 2000, using plasma and magnetic field parameters measured upstream of the bow shock as input to three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. This paper begins with a discussion of images of proton auroras from the FUV SI-12 instrument in comparison with the simulation results. The comparison showed a very good agreement between intensifications in the auroral emissions measured by FUV SI-12 and the enhancement of plasma flows into the dayside ionosphere predicted by the global simulations. Subsequently, the IMAGE observations are analyzed in the context of the dayside magnetosphere's topological changes in magnetic field and plasma flows inferred from the simulation results. Finding include that the global dynamics of the auroral proton precipitation patterns observed by IMAGE are consistent with magnetic field reconnection occurring as a continuous process while the IMF changes in direction and the solar wind dynamic pressure varies. The global simulations also indicate that some of the transient patterns observed by IMAGE are consistent with sporadic reconnection processes. Global merging patterns found in the simulations agree with the antiparallel merging model, though locally component merging might broaden the merging region, especially in the region where shocked solar wind discontinuities first reach the magnetopause. Finally, the simulations predict the accretion of plasma near the bow shock in the regions threaded by newly open field lines on which plasma flows into the dayside ionosphere are enhanced. Overall the results of these initial comparisons between global MHD simulation results and IMAGE observations emphasize the interplay between reconnection and dynamic pressure processes at the dayside magnetopause, as well as the intricate connection between the bow shock and the auroral region.     

A Review of Low Frequency Electromagnetic Wave Phenomena Related to Tropospheric-Ionospheric Coupling Mechanisms

Investigation of coupling mechanisms between the troposphere and the ionosphere requires a multidisciplinary approach involving several branches of atmospheric sciences, from meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, and fulminology to aeronomy, plasma physics, and space weather. In this work, we review low frequency electromagnetic wave observations in the Earth-ionosphere cavity from a troposphere-ionosphere coupling perspective. We discuss electromagnetic wave generation, propagation, and resonance phenomena, considering atmospheric, ionospheric and magnetospheric sources, from lightning and transient luminous events at low altitude to Alfvén waves and particle precipitation related to solar and magnetospheric processes. We review ionospheric processes as well as surface and space weather phenomena that drive the coupling between the troposphere and the ionosphere. Effects of aerosols, water vapor distribution, thermodynamic parameters, and cloud charge separation and electrification processes on atmospheric electricity and electromagnetic waves are reviewed. Regarding the role of the lower boundary of the cavity, we review transient surface phenomena, including seismic activity, earthquakes, volcanic processes and dust electrification. The role of surface perturbations and atmospheric gravity waves in ionospheric dynamics is also briefly addressed. We summarize analytical and numerical tools and techniques to model low frequency electromagnetic wave propagation and to solve inverse problems and outline in a final section a few challenging subjects that are important to advance our understanding of tropospheric-ionospheric coupling.     

Global Imaging of Proton and Electron Aurorae in the far Ultraviolet

The IMAGE spacecraft carries three FUV photon imagers, the Wideband Imaging Camera (WIC) and two channels, SI-12 and SI-13, of the Spectrographic Imager. These provide simultaneous global images, which can be interpreted in terms of the precipitating particle types (protons and electrons) and their energies. IMAGE FUV is the first space-borne global imager that can provide instantaneous global images of the proton precipitation. At times a bright auroral spot, rich in proton precipitation, is observed on the dayside, several degrees poleward of the auroral zone. The spot was identified as the footprint of the merging region of the cusp that is located on lobe field lines when IMF B_z was northward. This identification was based on compelling statistical evidence showing that the appearance and location of the spot is consistent with the IMF B_z and B_y directions. The intensity of the spot is well correlated with the solar wind dynamic pressure and it was found that the direct entry of solar wind particles could account for the intensity of the observed spot without the need for any additional acceleration. Another discovery was the observation of dayside sub-auroral proton arcs. These arcs were observed in the midday to afternoon MLT sector. Conjugate satellite observations showed that these arcs were generated by pure proton precipitation. Nightside auroras and their relationship to substorm phases were studied through single case studies and in a superimposed epoch analysis. It was found that generally there is substantial proton precipitation prior to substorms and the proton intensity only doubles at substorm onset while the electron auroral brightness increases on average by a factor of 5 and sometimes by as much as a factor of 10. Substorm onset occurs in the central region of the pre-existing proton precipitation. Assuming that nightside protons are precipitating from a quasi-stable ring current at its outer regions where the field lines are distorted by neutral sheet currents we can associate the onset location with this region of closed but distorted field lines relatively close to the earth. Our results also show that protons are present in the initial poleward substorm expansion however later they are over taken by the electrons. We also find that the intensity of the substorms as quantified by the intensity of the post onset electron precipitation is correlated with the intensity of the proton precipitation prior to the substorms, highlighting the role of the pre-existing near earth plasma in the production of the next substorm.