THE GLOBAL RESPONSE OF RELATIVISTIC RADIATION BELT ELECTRONS TO THE JANUARY 1997 MAGNETIC CLOUD

In January 1997 a large fleet of NASA and US military satellites provi ded the most complete observations to date of the changes in >2 MeV el ectrons during a geomagnetic storm. Observations at geosynchronous orb it revealed a somewhat unusual two-peaked enhancement in relativistic electron fluxes [Reeves et al., 1998]. In the heart of the radiation b elts at L approximate to 4, however, there was a single enhancement fo llowed by a gradual decay. Radial profiles from the POLAR and GPS sate llites revealed three distinct phases. (1) In the acceleration phase e lectron fluxes increased simultaneously at L approximate to 4-6. (2) D uring the passage of the cloud the radiation belts were shifted radial ly outward and then relaxed earthward. (3) For several days after the passage of the cloud the radial gradient of the fluxes flattened, incr easing the fluxes at higher L-shells. These observations provide evide nce that the acceleration of relativistic electrons takes place within the radiation belts and is rapid. Both magnetospheric compression and radial diffusion can cause a redistribution of electron fluxes within the magnetosphere that make the event profiles appear quite different when viewed at different L-shells.