Calibration of electron density obtained from whistler inversion with in-situ satellite measurements

Summary form only given. The equatorial electron density obtained from whistler inversion has long been regarded as an effective tool for monitoring the plasmasphere from ground based measurements. However, as these inversion methods are based on various models, it is essential to validate them through comparison with in-situ density measurements. To date, no such comparison was made, mostly because no suitable in-situ was available. Van Allen Probes measure not only the electron density and magnetic field in-situ, but all the six electromagnetic wave components as well allowing a real calibration with whistler-based densities. We have used two approaches for calibration: 1. These six component burst mode measurements are used to find simultaneous satellite and ground based whistler events. Then a partial-path whistler inversion is made to compare the in-situ density with the one derived from whistlers. 2. Equatorial electron densities obtained from ground based whistler events are compared with in-situ electron densities measured at or very close to the equator at the same time. Our recently developed whistler inversion method includes various models, such as wave propagation, magnetic field, field aligned density distribution and equatorial electron density models. The latter one is a special one used for multiple-path whistler groups. We have developed a method for cross calibration of the data from the two sources to validate the models in our whistler inversion method.