1. Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere Anthea Coster
Topics -
Magnetospheric-Ionospheric Coupling
Ion-Neutral Coupling
Low-Mid-High Latitude Connections
High Latitude and Polar Processes
Impacts from Below
Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere

2. Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere
Magnetospheric-Ionospheric Coupling
Ionospheric Feedbacks on the Magnetosphere.
Ionospheric conductivity controls magnetospheric processes.
Transport of heavy ionospheric ions into the magnetosphere has long been observed but is poorly understood.
Daytime auroral observations suggest ionospheric control of auroral precipitation.
Fine-scale measurements are critical - AMISR, Satellite, Optical.
Daytime optical measurements.
Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere

3. Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere
Penetration Electric Fields
During magnetic storms, the high latitude E-field maps down to the equator
The region 2 field-aligned currents progressively shield the low latitudes
The mechanisms are poorly understood; the role of dynamo electric fields, conductivity gradients & other factors has not been properly modelled.
Ionospheric density and scintillation strongly depend on this E-field
Observations from radars, ionosondes & magnetometers can provide ground-truth
Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere

4. Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere
High Latitude Processes
High-temporal and spatial resolution Total Electron Content (TEC) measurements
Three dimensional ionospheric tomography of ionization as well as thermal structures in the polar cap ionosphere using ground based ionosonde and GPS TEC measurements
Polar cap boundary measurements using the array of photometers
Coarse information about precipitating particle energy in the polar cap ionosphere
Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere

5. Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere
Heliospheric Impacts
Studies of the fundamental plasma physical processes which mediate energy flow in the solar-terrestrial system
Studies of naturally occurring processes such as the structure and dynamics of auroral arcs, proton aurora, ionosphere-thermosphere interactions, ion outflow and non-Maxwellian plasmas are of critical importance
Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere

6. Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere
Conjugacy
Global scale auroras are known to be similar, but how about mesoscales (L= km)?.
ASC images: The real conjugate point of a station can move hundreds (tens) of km in longitude (latitude) during one hour.
Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere

7. Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere
Ion-Neutral Coupling
Neutral outflow at high-latitudes occurs when an energized out-flowing ion undergoes a charge-exchange reaction with a background neutral atom.
Models of the aurora do not include the impact of heavy, or light, neutral atoms produced in the charge-exchange reactions of energized ions out-flowing from the auroral zone.
Improved understanding of neutral atom impact on the magnetosphere.
Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere

8. Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere
Low-Mid-High Latitude Connections
Do we really understand the formation of medium-scale TIDs
What is the source of mesoscale ionospheric structures at tropical latitudes.
Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere

9. Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere
Low-Mid-High Latitude Connections
What are the relative roles of storm-time magnetospheric electric fields and dynamo electric fields from thermospheric winds driven by high latitude heating?
Do mid-latitude storms have a longitudinal dependence perhaps related to the South Atlantic Anomaly?
Is mass transfer from the ionosphere to the magnetosphere significant?
Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere

10. Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere
Low-Mid-High Latitude Connections
How is plasma transported from the equatorial anomalies poleward
Are mid-latitude ionospheric storms the cause of polar cap patches.
What are the production mechanisms for mid-latitude irregularities
Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere

11. Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere
Impacts from Below
The response of lower thermosphere (>100km) to stratospheric warming events is not known.
Wintertime winds and temperatures in the lower thermosphere are much more variable than during other seasons.
Tidal signatures before major stratospheric warming (LTCS-6, Dec 1991) were vastly different from other winter campaigns.
Pronounced and persistent variability for this period was also reported in thermospheric parameters in the F-region
Ionosphere, Magnetosphere and Thermosphere