O'Brien-Lemon Magnetospheric Density Reanalysis: Hourly Plasma Moments 1990-2005

A reanalysis database provides hourly estimates of four plasma moments—density and temperature for hot protons and electrons—at geosynchronous orbit. The data covers the years 1990-2005 and fills gaps using an ensemble of models applied to measurements from Los Alamos sensors. Validation shows rank order correlations ranging from 0.65 to 0.97 for the reconstructed moments.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spacecraft surface charging anomalies based on reconstructed electron temperature data
• Providing boundary conditions for numerical magnetosphere simulations based on geosynchronous plasma moments
• Conducting statistical studies of temporal variations based on hourly data across 16 years
• Investigating the local plasma environment for anomaly analysis where direct sensor data is unavailable

Strengths

• Provides nearly continuous hourly data for a 16-year period (1990-2005)
• Reconstruction method validated with rank order correlations ranging from 0.65 to 0.97
• Includes four key plasma moments (density and temperature for hot protons and electrons)

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data is stored in a BIN format, which may require specialized tools for access

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Reanalysis constructed using an ensemble of models applied to Los Alamos sensor measurements

Time Range

1990-2005

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 07:14:22.748510; freshness should be verified

Geography

Geosynchronous orbit