LANL Geosynchronous Energetic Particle Plot Description

Example of plot from March 10, 1998


Geosynchronous spacecraft observe repeatable signatures during the substorm cycle. As magnetospheric magnetic field lines stretch during the substorm growth phase, spacecraft on the nightside may leave the radiation belts and enter the magnetotail lobes. Particle fluxes diminish over a period ranging from 30 min to 1 hour.

At substorm onset, the magnetic field lines collapse into a dipolar configuration and spacecraft on the nightside return to the particle rich radiation belts within a period of minutes. The clouds of injected particles drift around the Earth to form the radiation belts. After a sufficient time, which depends upon particle energy, the injected particles can be observed drifting through the dayside magnetosphere.

The LANL plot for energetic electrons observed by spacecraft 1990-095 on March 10, 1998 presents a clear growth phase signature from 0600 UT, ending in an onset at 0900 UT.

In these plots different panels correspond to different spacecraft. The different curves represent differential fluxes in different energy bands. The exact energies measured by the different spacecraft vary, but are within the 50-600 keV range.

There is more information here:
LANL Energetic Particle Summary Plot Formats

LANL Energetic Particle Plots
"Low energy" proton and electron summary plots from spacecraft in geosynchronos orbit