Scientists Map Earth’s EM Emissions

 

An international team of scientists have issued a report on whistler-mode chorus waves, a type of electromagnetic emission generated by electrons in Earth’s radiation belt, that have the potential to cause massive interference with satellite electronics as well as ground based communications. The researchers used data from NASA’s THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) satellites to map the distribution of these waves. They found that on Earth’s nightside, chorus occurs only near the equator, but that daytime chorus extends to higher latitudes. Also, it appears that the amplitude of chorus waves depends strongly on geomagnetic activity. At a distance greater than seven Earth radii (approximately 45,000 kilometers) moderate chorus is present more than 10 percent of the time and persists even during periods of low geomagnetic activity. The research team included scientists from the United States, Sweden, France, Germany, and Austria. An abstract of the report can be viewed online.

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