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Plasma Sources of Solar System Magnetospheres pp 5–25Cite as

The Role of the Ionosphere in Providing Plasma to the Terrestrial Magnetosphere—An Historical Overview

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Part of the book series: Space Sciences Series of ISSI ((SSSI,volume 52))

Abstract

Through the more than half century of space exploration, the perception and recognition of the fundamental role of the ionospheric plasma in populating the Earth’s magnetosphere has evolved dramatically. A brief history of this evolution in thinking is presented. Both theory and measurements have unveiled a surprising new understanding of this important ionosphere-magnetosphere mass coupling process. The highlights of the mystery surrounding the difficulty in measuring this largely invisible low energy plasma are also discussed. This mystery has been solved through the development of instrumentation capable of measuring these low energy positively-charged outflowing ions in the presence of positive spacecraft potentials. This has led to a significant new understanding of the ionospheric plasma as a significant driver of magnetospheric plasma content and dynamics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

    Charles R. Chappell

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  1. Charles R. Chappell
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Correspondence to Charles R. Chappell .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

    Andrew F. Nagy

  2. Institut de Recherche, en Astrophysique et Planétologie, Toulouse, France

    Michel Blanc

  3. Physics and Astronomy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

    Charles R. Chappell

  4. Max-Planck Institut fur Sonnensystem, Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany

    Norbert Krupp

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Chappell, C.R. (2016). The Role of the Ionosphere in Providing Plasma to the Terrestrial Magnetosphere—An Historical Overview. In: Nagy, A., Blanc, M., Chappell, C., Krupp, N. (eds) Plasma Sources of Solar System Magnetospheres. Space Sciences Series of ISSI, vol 52. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3544-4_2

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