SCIENCE GOALS/OBJECTIVES: AN OUTSTANDING OBSERVATION AT THE INTERFACE OF THE PLASMA SHEET AND THE INNER MAGNETOSPHERE IS THE PREVALENCE OF LARGE AMPLITUDE KINETIC SCALE ELECTROMAGNETIC OSCILLATIONS OF THE GEOMAGNETIC FIELD [CHASTON ET AL. 2014]. THESE FIELD VARIATIONS DRIVE EXTREME ION ENERGIZATION AND ELECTRON HEATING TO THE EXTENT THEY MAY CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY TO INNER MAGNETOSPHERIC ENERGY DENSITY AND THE FORMATION OF AURORA. FOR THIS PROCESS TO BE SUSTAINED IN THE MANNER OBSERVED REQUIRES CONTINUOUS DRIVING AND ENERGY TRANSPORT ONTO THE FIELD-LINES WHERE THESE WAVES ARE OBSERVED. WE PROPOSE TO DETERMINE THE NATURE OF THE ENERGY TRANSPORT PROCESS THAT SUPPORTS THIS DRIVING AND IDENTIFY THE PROCESSES RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONVERSION OF THE INCOMING ENERGY FLUX INTO THE LARGE AMPLITUDE FLUCTUATIONS OBSERVED. MISSION DATA: THIS RESEARCH WILL BE PERFORMED USING FIELDS AND PLASMA OBSERVATIONS FROM THE VAN ALLEN PROBES SPACECRAFT. DURING ACTIVE TIMES THESE SPACECRAFT ROUTINELY TRAVERSE THE REGION WHERE THE HOT PLASMAS OF THE PLASMASHEET MEET THE COOLER HIGHLY MAGNETIZED PLASMAS OF THE INNER MAGNETOSPHERE AND THE LARGE AMPLITUDE ELECTRIC FIELD FLUCTUATIONS DESCRIBED ABOVE ARE FOUND. THE MEASUREMENTS FROM THE VAN ALLEN PROBES SPACECRAFT ALLOW A FULL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PLASMA AND LOCAL WAVE PROPERTIES IN THE SPACECRAFT FRAME THROUGH THIS REGION. DATA ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY: USING THESE MEASUREMENTS WE WILL QUANTIFY THE ENERGY INPUT INTO THIS REGION AND DETERMINE THE RATE AT WHICH THIS INCOMING ENERGY IS CONVERTED INTO THE KINETIC FIELD VARIATIONS OBSERVED. THIS WILL BE ACHIEVED USING THE METRICS OF WAVE AND PARTICLE ENERGY FLUX IN COMBINATION WITH THE APPLICATION OF A SPECTRAL APPROACH FOR LOW FREQUENCY MODE DECOMPOSITION DEVELOPED BY THE PI. THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE LOCAL PLASMA ENVIRONMENT IN COMBINATION WITH THE MODE DECOMPOSITION WILL ALLOW THE IDENTIFICATION OF MODE CONVERSION AND THE ASSOCIATED COUPLING OF INJECTED ENERGY TO SHEAR AND COMPRESSIONAL OSCILLATIONS IN THE GEOMAGNETIC FIELDS. WE NOTE THAT THESE PROCESSES ARE TYPICALLY INVOKED AS THE MEANS FOR DRIVING THE GENERATION OF SHEAR ALFVEN WAVES AND FIELD-ALIGNED CURRENTS AT THE INNER EDGE OF THE PLASMA SHEET YET TO OUR KNOWLEDGE THERE ARE NO DIRECT MEASUREMENTS OF THE ACTION OF THESE PROCESS IN THIS ENVIRONMENT. RELEVANCE: THIS RESEARCH GOES BEYOND THE MISSION GOALS OF THE VAN ALLEN PROBES TO ADDRESS THE GOALS OF THE HELIOPHYSICS DECADAL SURVEY TO DETERMINE THE DYNAMICS AND COUPLING OF EARTH S MAGNETOSPHERE IONOSPHERE AND ATMOSPHERE AND THEIR RESPONSE TO SOLAR AND TERRESTRIAL INPUTS AND TO DISCOVER AND CHARACTERIZE FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES THAT OCCUR BOTH WITHIN THE HELIOSPHERE AND THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE. THE ENERGY CONVERSION AND TRANSPORT PROCESSES WE SEEK TO EXPLORE COUPLE THE IONOSPHERE TO THE MAGNETOSPHERE VIA PROCESSES FUNDAMENTAL TO THE PLASMA ENVIRONMENT OF THE SPACE. REFERENCE: CHASTON C. C. ET AL. (2014) OBSERVATIONS OF KINETIC SCALE FIELD LINE RESONANCES GEOPHYS. RES. LETT. DOI: 10.1002/2013GL058507.