Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

An extreme distortion of the Van Allen belt arising from the ‘Hallowe'en’ solar storm in 2003

Nature volume 432, pages 878–881 (2004)Cite this article

Abstract

The Earth's radiation belts—also known as the Van Allen belts1—contain high-energy electrons trapped on magnetic field lines2,3. The centre of the outer belt is usually 20,000–25,000 km from Earth. The region between the belts is normally devoid of particles2,3,4, and is accordingly favoured as a location for spacecraft operation because of the benign environment5. Here we report that the outer Van Allen belt was compressed dramatically by a solar storm known as the ‘Hallowe'en storm’ of 2003. From 1 to 10 November, the outer belt had its centre only ∼10,000 km from Earth's equatorial surface, and the plasmasphere was similarly displaced inwards. The region between the belts became the location of high particle radiation intensity. This remarkable deformation of the entire magnetosphere implies surprisingly powerful acceleration and loss processes deep within the magnetosphere.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Energetic electron data from a low-altitude Earth-orbiting spacecraft showing both a long historical record of the Van Allen radiation belts and the specific effects of the 2003 Hallowe'en storm.
Figure 2: Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) images of the Earth's plasmasphere during late October and early November 2003.
Figure 3: Diagrams of the three-dimensional view of the Earth's outer radiation belt and its relationship to the plasmasphere.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Van Allen, J. A. in Discovery of the Magnetosphere (eds Gillmor, C. S. & Spreiter, J. R.) 235–251 (Vol. 7, History of Geophysics, American Geophysical Union, Washington DC, 1997)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  2. Vette, J. I. The AE-8 Trapped Electron Model Environment (NSSDC WDC-A-R&S 91-24, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, 1991)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Brautigam, D. H., Gussenhoven, M. S. & Mullen, E. G. Quasi-static model of outer zone electrons. IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 39, 1797–1803 (1992)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Lyons, L. R. & Thorne, R. M. Equilibrium structure of radiation belt electrons. J. Geophys. Res. 78(13), 2142–2149 (1973)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Baker, D. N. How to cope with space weather. Science 297, 1486–1487 (2002)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Lopez, R. E., Baker, D. N. & Allen, J. H. Sun unleashes Halloween storm. Eos 85, 105, 108 (2004)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Baker, D. N. et al. An overview of the Solar Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX) mission. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens. 31, 531–541 (1993)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Li, X. et al. The predictability of the magnetosphere and space weather. Eos 84, 361, 369–370 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Baker, D. N., Kanekal, S. G., Pulkkinen, T. I. & Blake, J. B. Equinoctial and solstitial averages of magnetospheric relativistic electrons: A strong semiannual modulation. Geophys. Res. Lett. 26, 3193–3196 (1999)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Blake, J. B. et al. New high temporal and spatial resolution measurements by SAMPEX of the precipitation of relativistic electrons. Adv. Space Res. 18, 171–177 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Looper, M. D. et al. Observations of remnants of the ultrarelativistic electrons injected by the strong SSC of 24 March 1991. Geophys. Res. Lett. 21, 2079–2082 (1994)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Li, X. et al. Simulation of the prompt energization and transport of radiation particles during the March 23, 1991 SSC. Geophys. Res. Lett. 20, 2423–2426 (1993)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Li, X. in Proc. 6th Int. Conf. on Substorms (ICS6) (ed. Winglee, R. M.) 305–311 (Univ. Washington Press, Seattle, Washington, 2000)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Carpenter, D. L. & Park, C. G. What ionospheric workers should know about the plasmapause/plasmasphere. Rev. Geophys. 11, 133–154 (1973)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. Grebowsky, J. M. Model study of plasmapause motion. J. Geophys. Res. 75, 4329–4333 (1970)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Thorne, R. M., Smith, E. J., Burton, R. K. & Holzer, R. E. Plasmaspheric hiss. J. Geophys. Res. 78 (10), 1581–1598 (1973)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. Lorentzen, K. R., Blake, J. B., Inan, U. S. & Bortnik, J. Observations of relativistic electron microbursts in association with VLF chorus. J. Geophys. Res. A 106, 6017–6027 (2001)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Burch, J. L. et al. Views of the Earth's magnetosphere with the IMAGE satellite. Science 291, 619–624 (2001)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Sandel, B. R., Goldstein, J., Gallagher, D. L. & Spasojevic, M. Extreme ultraviolet imager observations of the structure and dynamics of the plasmasphere. Space Sci. Rev. 109, 25–46 (2003)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. Goldstein, J. et al. Simultaneous remote sensing and in situ observations of plasmaspheric drainage plumes. J. Geophys. Res. 109, doi:10.1029/2003JA010281 (2004)

  21. Russell, C. T., Cartwright, M. & Kanekal, S. The formation of the inner zone trapped radiation belt. Adv. Space Res. (in the press)

  22. Liu, W. W., Rostoker, G. & Baker, D. N. Internal acceleration of relativistic electrons by large-amplitude ULF pulsations. J. Geophys. Res. 104, 17391–17407 (1999)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. Summers, D., Thorne, R. M. & Xiao, F. Relativistic theory of wave-particle resonant diffusion with application to electron acceleration in the magnetosphere. J. Geophys. Res. A 103, 20487–20500 (1998)

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Summers, D. & Thorne, R. M. Relativistic electron pitch-angle scattering by electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves during geomagnetic storms. J. Geophys. Res. 108, doi:10.1029/2002JA009489 (2003)

  25. Webb, D. F. & Allen, J. H. Spacecraft and ground anomalies related to the October-November 2003 solar activity. Space Weather 2, doi:10.1029/2004SW000075 (2004)

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NASA. We thank members of the SAMPEX and IMAGE science teams for data and discussions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, 1234 Innovation Drive, Colorado, 80303-7814, Boulder, USA

    D. N. Baker, S. G. Kanekal, X. Li & S. P. Monk

  2. Southwest Research Institute, PO Drawer 28510, Texas, 78284, San Antonio, USA

    J. Goldstein & J. L. Burch

Authors
  1. D. N. Baker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S. G. Kanekal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. X. Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. S. P. Monk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. J. Goldstein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. J. L. Burch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. N. Baker.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Baker, D., Kanekal, S., Li, X. et al. An extreme distortion of the Van Allen belt arising from the ‘Hallowe'en’ solar storm in 2003. Nature 432, 878–881 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03116

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03116

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing