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Abstract:
A long-standing question in studying the plasma dynamics in the magnetosphere pertains to the mass coupling between the ionosphere and the global magnetosphere. This presentation explores the connection between different plasmas lying within and outside the magnetosphere, and involves an integrated computational view of geospace, that solves and tracks the evolution of all relevant heavy ion species, to systematically assess their regional and global influence on the various loss and acceleration mechanisms operating throughout the terrestrial magnetosphere.In this presentation, we discuss the circulation and relative transport and energization of heavy ions, as they are transported from the high latitude ionosphere throughout the global magnetosphere, and their impact on the inner magnetospheric plasma dynamics. In addition, we present evidence that energetic heavy ions populating the inner magnetosphere are contributing significantly to early time plasmasphere refilling, as the plasma sheet heavy ion composition is the primary controlling factor in the formation of the cold protons via charge exchange with the geocorona, while the neutral density plays a much smaller role.
