Geotail Energetic Particles and Ion Composition (EPIC) Data. EPIC is made up of five subassemblies: the Supra-Thermal Ion Composition Spectrometer (STICS) sensor, the STICS analog electronics, the Ion Composition System (ICS) sensor, the ICS analog electronics, and the Data Processing Unit (DPU). The STICS sensor provides ~4π angular coverage, composition and spectral observations, with charge state determination for all ions from 30 keV to 230 keV/e, and mass per charge measurements $gt;7.5 keV/e. The ICS sensor provides flux, composition, spectra, and angular distributions over two polar angles of the elemental species protons through iron from $gt;50 keV to 3 MeV along with angular distributions in one plane of electron fluxes >32 keV and >110 keV. The DPU provides the capability of numerous operating modes from which a small number will be selected to optimize data collection throughout the many phases of the Geotail mission.
(1) References and descriptions of technical documents, which are provided as part of the archive delivery:
- Kokubun, S., et. al. (1990). Geotail Interim Report (Section 1.6), SES-TD-90-201SY, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Tokyo, Japan. This prelaunch report presents the design of the Geotail project; Section 1.6 is devoted to EPIC. Note: only a photocopy of the EPIC Section 1.6 of this report will be provided.
- Hestermeyer, A., et al. (1991). Geotail/EPIC DPU (Data Processing Unit) software users guide, Technische Universitat Braunschweig/Institut fur Datentechnik und Kommunikationsnetze, Brunswick, Germany. This document provides detailed information on DPU operation.
- Schlemm, C. E., et al. (1993). Geotail/EPIC instrument user's manual, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland. This document provides a detailed description of the EPIC instrument for telemetry interpretation and instrument control and commanding. It provides detail information on the instrument telemetry.
- Nylund, S. (2006). Geotail/EPIC ground-based data conversions and corrections, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland. This document provides detailed information on the ICS and STICS sensors and describes the ground-based data conversions and corrections of compress rate counts.
- Nylund, S. (2014). Geotail/EPIC instrument and data analysis caveats, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland. This document describes the cautions of the EPIC instrument and the use of its measurement datasets.
- EPIC Bibliography: a list of publications and presentations related to EPIC.
(2) References and descriptions to journal articles:
- Nishida, A. (1994). The Geotail Mission, Geophys. Res. Lett., 21, 2871-2873, 1994. (Mission paper: An introductory article to the Geotail spacecraft mission).
- Williams, D. J., R. W. McEntire, C. Schlemm II, A. T. Y. Lui, G. Gloeckler, S. P. Christon, F. Gliem (1994), Geotail energetic particles and ion composition instrument, J. Geomag. Geoelect., 46, 39-57, 1994. (Instrument paper - A description of EPIC the instrument, its operation, and early mission results).
- Eastman, T. E., S. P. Christon, et al. (1998). Magnetospheric plasma regimes using Geotail measurements 1: Regime identification and distant tail variability, J. Geophys. Res., 103, 23503-23520, 1998.
- Christon, S. P., T. E. Eastman, et al. (1998). Magnetospheric plasma regimes using Geotail measurements 2: Statistics, spatial distribution, and geomagnetic dependence, J. Geophys. Res., 103, 23521-23542, 1998. (Regime ID papers: Complementary papers that together describe the RID identification process, Eastman, et. al., and the overall characteristics of the RID data set, Christon, et. al.).
- Note: Additional journal articles related to EPIC are given in the EPIC bibliography
Version:2.3.0
Geotail Energetic Particles and Ion Composition (EPIC) Data. EPIC is made up of five subassemblies: the Supra-Thermal Ion Composition Spectrometer (STICS) sensor, the STICS analog electronics, the Ion Composition System (ICS) sensor, the ICS analog electronics, and the Data Processing Unit (DPU). The STICS sensor provides ~4π angular coverage, composition and spectral observations, with charge state determination for all ions from 30 keV to 230 keV/e, and mass per charge measurements $gt;7.5 keV/e. The ICS sensor provides flux, composition, spectra, and angular distributions over two polar angles of the elemental species protons through iron from $gt;50 keV to 3 MeV along with angular distributions in one plane of electron fluxes >32 keV and >110 keV. The DPU provides the capability of numerous operating modes from which a small number will be selected to optimize data collection throughout the many phases of the Geotail mission.
(1) References and descriptions of technical documents, which are provided as part of the archive delivery:
- Kokubun, S., et. al. (1990). Geotail Interim Report (Section 1.6), SES-TD-90-201SY, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Tokyo, Japan. This prelaunch report presents the design of the Geotail project; Section 1.6 is devoted to EPIC. Note: only a photocopy of the EPIC Section 1.6 of this report will be provided.
- Hestermeyer, A., et al. (1991). Geotail/EPIC DPU (Data Processing Unit) software users guide, Technische Universitat Braunschweig/Institut fur Datentechnik und Kommunikationsnetze, Brunswick, Germany. This document provides detailed information on DPU operation.
- Schlemm, C. E., et al. (1993). Geotail/EPIC instrument user's manual, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland. This document provides a detailed description of the EPIC instrument for telemetry interpretation and instrument control and commanding. It provides detail information on the instrument telemetry.
- Nylund, S. (2006). Geotail/EPIC ground-based data conversions and corrections, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland. This document provides detailed information on the ICS and STICS sensors and describes the ground-based data conversions and corrections of compress rate counts.
- Nylund, S. (2014). Geotail/EPIC instrument and data analysis caveats, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland. This document describes the cautions of the EPIC instrument and the use of its measurement datasets.
- EPIC Bibliography: a list of publications and presentations related to EPIC.
(2) References and descriptions to journal articles:
- Nishida, A. (1994). The Geotail Mission, Geophys. Res. Lett., 21, 2871-2873, 1994. (Mission paper: An introductory article to the Geotail spacecraft mission).
- Williams, D. J., R. W. McEntire, C. Schlemm II, A. T. Y. Lui, G. Gloeckler, S. P. Christon, F. Gliem (1994), Geotail energetic particles and ion composition instrument, J. Geomag. Geoelect., 46, 39-57, 1994. (Instrument paper - A description of EPIC the instrument, its operation, and early mission results).
- Eastman, T. E., S. P. Christon, et al. (1998). Magnetospheric plasma regimes using Geotail measurements 1: Regime identification and distant tail variability, J. Geophys. Res., 103, 23503-23520, 1998.
- Christon, S. P., T. E. Eastman, et al. (1998). Magnetospheric plasma regimes using Geotail measurements 2: Statistics, spatial distribution, and geomagnetic dependence, J. Geophys. Res., 103, 23521-23542, 1998. (Regime ID papers: Complementary papers that together describe the RID identification process, Eastman, et. al., and the overall characteristics of the RID data set, Christon, et. al.).
- Note: Additional journal articles related to EPIC are given in the EPIC bibliography
| Role | Person | StartDate | StopDate | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | PrincipalInvestigator | spase://SMWG/Person/Anthony.T.Y.Lui | |||
| 2. | CoInvestigator DataProducer | spase://SMWG/Person/Stephen.P.Christon | |||
| 3. | MetadataContact | spase://SMWG/Person/Robert.E.McGuire | |||
| 4. | MetadataContact | spase://SMWG/Person/Lee.Frost.Bargatze | |||
| 5. | DataProducer | spase://SMWG/Person/Stuart.R.Nylund |
EPIC/STICS Pulse Height Analysis (PHA) Data Product Description
Overview of the Geotail EPIC Instrument and of the Geotail Mission and a Description of the Ground-Based Data Conversions and Corrections for this Instrument
D. J. Williams, et al., GEOTAIL Energetic Particles and Ion Composition Instrument, J. Geomag. Geoelectr., 46, 39-57, 1994
The SDC is the Central Processing and Analysis Facility for the Geotail EPIC Particle Instrument, One of Seven Instruments in the Geotail Mission
In ASCII Format via ftp from SPDF
In ASCII Format via http from SPDF
Geotail EPIC Summary Images
Year, YYYY = Gregorian Year AD
Day of Year, DOY - Day 1 = Jan 1
Hour, HH = Hour of Day
Minute, MM = Minute of Hour
Second, SS.S = Second of Minute
Raw Engineering Data: Engineer Data Block (EDB) Number
STICS Deflection Voltage (DV) Step Number
This Parameter indicates the Sector (SE) Number of the Sensor$apos;s Equatorial Look-Direction
Raw Engineering Data: Identification Parameter (ID) Number
Raw Engineering Data: Solid State Detector (SD) Number indicating Sensor's Polar Look-Direction (where 1 is the South Detector Head, 2 is the Equatorial Detector Head, 3 is the North Detector Head, and 0 is Indeterminate)
Raw Engineering Data: Energy Channel (ECH) Number
Raw Engineering Data: Time-of-Flight Channel (TCH) Number
Raw Engineering Data: The Front or Start (ST) Micro Channel Plate ID Number indicates the Sensor$apos;s Polar Look-Direction
Raw Engineering Data: The Rear or Stop (SP) Micro Channel Plate ID Number
Raw Engineering Data: The PHA Range (R) ID Number indicates the Basic Rate Sampling Range, where 0 is BR0, 1 is BR1, 2 is BR2, and 3 is Indeterminate
Atomic Mass per Charge (MPQ) Ratio of the Ion
The Unified Atomic Mass Unit of the Ion