My very first post on this website was on the “zebra stripes”, an intriguing feature present in electron energy spectrograms measured in the Earth’s inner radiation belt and slot region. A lot of research remains to be done on this topic, and I am happy to share some of the most recent findings.
1) Zebra stripes are usually created during substorm onset, a time at which prompt penetration electric fields are present in the plasmasphere.
For more info on the method and findings, there is now JGR Space Physics article on this! [access here]
2) The zebra stripe pattern can be disrupted and inversed in the slot region.
The first observations of this remarkable feature are presented and interpreted in our latest Geophysical Research Letter [access here]
In summary: the “zebra stripes” visible at Earth (and also Saturn!) are an exciting research topic containing a wealth of information on trapped particle dynamics.