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Transport of cold ions from the polar ionosphere to the plasma sheet
Author(s) -
Li Kun,
Haaland S.,
Eriksson A.,
André M.,
Engwall E.,
Wei Y.,
Kronberg E. A.,
Fränz M.,
Daly P. W.,
Zhao H.,
Ren Q. Y.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1002/jgra.50518
Subject(s) - plasma sheet , ionosphere , solar wind , ion , polar wind , physics , plasma , earth's magnetic field , population , substorm , geophysics , atmospheric sciences , interplanetary magnetic field , magnetosphere , atomic physics , magnetic field , demography , quantum mechanics , sociology
Ionospheric outflow is believed to be a significant contribution to the magnetospheric plasma population. Ions are extracted from the ionosphere and transported downtail by the large‐scale convection motion driven by dayside reconnection. In this paper, we use a comprehensive data set of cold ion (total energy less than 70 eV) measurements combined with simultaneous observations from the solar wind to investigate the fate of these ions. By tracing the trajectories of the ions, we are able to find out where in the magnetotail ions end up. By sorting the observation according to geomagnetic activity and solar wind parameters, we then generate maps of the fate regions in the magnetotail and investigate the effects of these drivers. Our results suggest that, on overall, for about 85% of the cases, the outflowing ions are transported to the plasma sheet. The region where the ions are deposited into the plasma sheet is larger during geomagnetic quiet time than during disturbed conditions. A persistent dawn‐dusk asymmetry in the plasma sheet deposition is also observed.