The distribution of plasmaspheric hiss wave power with respect to plasmapause location

Abstract In this work, Van Allen Probes data are used to derive terrestrial plasmaspheric hiss wave power distributions organized by (1) distance away from the plasmapause and (2) plasmapause distance from Earth. This approach is in contrast to the traditional organization of hiss wave power by L parameter and geomagnetic activity. Plasmapause‐sorting reveals previously unreported and highly repeatable features of the hiss wave power distribution, including a regular spatial distribution of hiss power with respect to the plasmapause, a standoff distance between peak hiss power and the plasmapause, and frequency‐dependent spatial localization of hiss. Identification and quantification of these features can provide insight into hiss generation and propagation and will facilitate improved parameterization of hiss wave power in predictive simulations of inner magnetosphere dynamics.