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Abstract

Electrons are one of the primary components of magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere (MIT) coupling. Their precipitation, mirroring, interaction in the ionosphere and backscatter/outflow account for and affect many of the MIT coupling processes as well as ionospheric conditions. Understanding their composition, characteristics, and dependence on geomagnetic conditions is critical for understanding MIT coupling and ionospheric dynamics particularly during enhanced geomagnetic activity. We present the results of a new study which provides the statistically expected effective spectra and variance of downgoing, upgoing, and mirroring electron populations by geomagnetic conditions and location utilizing data from the entire FAST mission, focusing on the effects of and differences during enhanced geomagnetic activity. Since the electron populations can be anisotropic and this is not accounted for in most ionospheric models, the effective spectra are calculated. That is, the equivalent isotropic spectra over the entire loss cone that would result in the same downgoing or upgoing electron energy flux by energy as the actual distribution.