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Physical Processes for Driving Ionospheric Outflows in Global SimulationsWe review and assess the importance of processes thought to drive ionospheric outflows, linking them as appropriate to the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field, and to the spatial and temporal distribution of their magnetospheric internal responses. These begin with the diffuse effects of photoionization and thermal equilibrium of the ionospheric topside, enhancing Jeans' escape, with ambipolar diffusion and acceleration. Auroral outflows begin with dayside reconnexion and resultant field-aligned currents and driven convection. These produce plasmaspheric plumes, collisional heating and wave-particle interactions, centrifugal acceleration, and auroral acceleration by parallel electric fields, including enhanced ambipolar fields from electron heating by precipitating particles. Observations and simulations show that solar wind energy dissipation into the atmosphere is concentrated by the geomagnetic field into auroral regions with an amplification factor of 10-100, enhancing heavy species plasma and gas escape from gravity, and providing more current carrying capacity. Internal plasmas thus enable electromagnetic driving via coupling to the plasma, neutral gas and by extension, the entire body " We assess the Importance of each of these processes in terms of local escape flux production as well as global outflow, and suggest methods for their implementation within multispecies global simulation codes. We complete 'he survey with an assessment of outstanding obstacles to this objective.
Document ID
20100024396
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Moore, Thomas Earle (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Strangeway, Robert J. (California Univ. Los Angeles, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
September 1, 2009
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Meeting Information
Meeting: 2009 American Geophysical Union(AGU) Fall Meeting
Location: San Francisco, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: December 14, 2009
End Date: December 18, 2009
Sponsors: American Geophysical Union
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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