Space Weather: Factors Controlling Ionospheric Outflow

University Of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will analyze data from the Fast Auroral Snapshot Small Explorer (FAST) satellite in conjunction with solar wind data from the ACE and WIND spacecraft. It will examine the processes that control the outflow of ions from the polar ionosphere. In particular it will determine the relative importance of large scale Joule heating, Alfven wave heating and heating due to electron precipitation. The work will produce a set of empirical scaling laws that can be used to parameterize ion outflow rates as a function of the various inputs. It will also relate the outflow rates to the solar wind input parameters.