Polar PWI MCA: Plasma Wave Electric and Magnetic Field Measurements

Multichannel Analyzer data from the Polar spacecraft's Plasma Wave Instrument provides electric and magnetic field measurements. The electric field data covers 5.6 Hz to 311 kHz across 20 logarithmically spaced channels, while magnetic field data covers 5.6 Hz to 10 kHz across 14 channels. This dataset was produced by NASA and is based on the instrument described by Gurnett et al. in Space Science Reviews, 1995.

Use Cases

• Analyzing wave mode identification based on the 20-channel electric field frequency coverage.
• Studying magnetospheric wave-particle interactions based on the 14-channel magnetic field measurements.
• Deriving electron cyclotron frequencies based on the provided formula Fce = 0.028 kHz*B.
• Investigating specific wave phenomena like chorus or hiss based on the platform tags referencing these emissions.

Strengths

• Provides measurements for both electric (20 channels) and magnetic (14 channels) fields.
• Covers a broad frequency range from 5.6 Hz to 311 kHz for electric fields.
• Includes a direct reference to the foundational instrument paper (Gurnett et al., 1995).

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from the Polar spacecraft's Plasma Wave Instrument (PWI).

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 07:39:18.423628; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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