Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
174
SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS: A SCIENCE FOR A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY
magnetic energy conversion and absorption. Combining optical measurements with in situ measurements
is needed to provide contextual information, in particular, how locally inferred acceleration processes
influence, and are influenced by, larger-scale structure and dynamics. The synthesis required to connect
these measurements with solar wind and magnetospheric drivers will require development and application
of increasingly realistic models for global and regional dynamics.
Without the photo-ionization present in the dayside ionosphere, the nightside ionosphere is susceptible
to structuring and modulation by variable fluxes of charged particles precipitating from the magnetosphere.
Gradients in the resulting ionization cause ionospheric currents to be diverted into field-aligned currents.
Recent studies have revealed the unexpected possibility that the accompanying ionospheric flow structures
are mirrored in the plasma sheet by the formation of fast flow channels and by steep plasma pressure gradients in the outer ring current. These ionospheric flow structures form at steep gradients in ionospheric
conductivity, which remains one of the most poorly diagnosed and vitally important ionospheric variables.
FIGURE 8.14 Observed correlations from FAST satellite data and inferred causal relationships among ionosphere-thermosphere-magnetosphere processes leading to the outflow of ionospheric ions. Researchers lack firm empirical knowledge
of the relative importance of the inferred processes, all of which occur in the ionosphere. The observed correlations from
FAST satellite data suggest causal relationships, but determining causality among these processes requires, at a minimum,
two-point measurements along magnetic flux tubes. SOURCE: Adapted from R.J. Strangeway, R.E. Ergun, Y.-J. Su, C.W. Carlson, and R.C. Elphic, Factors controlling ionospheric outflows as observed at intermediate altitudes, Journal of Geophysical
Research 110:A03221, doi:10.1029/2004JA01082, 2005. Copyright 2005 American Geophysical Union. Modified by permission
of American Geophysical Union.
Figure 8-14
Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
174
SOLAR AND SPACE PHYSICS: A SCIENCE FOR A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY
magnetic energy conversion and absorption. Combining optical measurements with in situ measurements
is needed to provide contextual information, in particular, how locally inferred acceleration processes
influence, and are influenced by, larger-scale structure and dynamics. The synthesis required to connect
these measurements with solar wind and magnetospheric drivers will require development and application
of increasingly realistic models for global and regional dynamics.
Without the photo-ionization present in the dayside ionosphere, the nightside ionosphere is susceptible
to structuring and modulation by variable fluxes of charged particles precipitating from the magnetosphere.
Gradients in the resulting ionization cause ionospheric currents to be diverted into field-aligned currents.
Recent studies have revealed the unexpected possibility that the accompanying ionospheric flow structures
are mirrored in the plasma sheet by the formation of fast flow channels and by steep plasma pressure gradients in the outer ring current. These ionospheric flow structures form at steep gradients in ionospheric
conductivity, which remains one of the most poorly diagnosed and vitally important ionospheric variables.
FIGURE 8.14 Observed correlations from FAST satellite data and inferred causal relationships among ionosphere-thermosphere-magnetosphere processes leading to the outflow of ionospheric ions. Researchers lack firm empirical knowledge
of the relative importance of the inferred processes, all of which occur in the ionosphere. The observed correlations from
FAST satellite data suggest causal relationships, but determining causality among these processes requires, at a minimum,
two-point measurements along magnetic flux tubes. SOURCE: Adapted from R.J. Strangeway, R.E. Ergun, Y.-J. Su, C.W. Carlson, and R.C. Elphic, Factors controlling ionospheric outflows as observed at intermediate altitudes, Journal of Geophysical
Research 110:A03221, doi:10.1029/2004JA01082, 2005. Copyright 2005 American Geophysical Union. Modified by permission
of American Geophysical Union.
Figure 8-14