OBJECTIVES: AN OUTSTANDING CHARACTERISTIC OF THE EARTH S MAGNETOTAIL IS THE IMPULSIVE TRANSPORT OF ENERGY THROUGH THE PLASMA SHEET [1]. THIS TRANSPORT TAKES THE FORM OF ENERGY FLOWS COMPRISED OF ELECTROMAGNETIC AND KINETIC FLUXES THAT INTENSIFY THE RING CURRENT MODULATE THE RADIATION BELTS AND DRIVE AURORA. IDENTIFYING THE NATURE OF THE ENERGY TRANSPORT IN THESE FLOWS IS A REQUIREMENT FOR ADVANCING UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE ENERGY STORED IN FIELDS AND PLASMAS COMPRISING THE PLASMA SHEET IS TRANSPORTED AND CONVERTED TO POWER MAGNETOSPHERIC DYNAMICS. WE PROPOSE TO DECOMPOSE THESE FLOWS THROUGH THE PLASMA SHEET INTO THE KINETIC AND ELECTROMAGNETIC CONTRIBUTIONS THAT CHARACTERIZE THE PHYSICS OF THE ENERGY TRANSPORT PROCESS. SPECIFICALLY OUR OBJECTIVES ARE TO: 1. IDENTIFY AND QUANTIFY THE CONTRIBUTIONS TO ENERGY TRANSPORT. 2. CHARACTERIZE THE COUPLING AND CONVERSION BETWEEN TRANSPORT MODES. MISSION DATA: THIS RESEARCH WILL BE PURSUED USING FIELDS AND PLASMA MEASUREMENTS FROM THE MAGNETOSPHERIC MULTI-SCALES MISSION (MMS). THE 4 MMS SPACECRAFT (SC) TRAVERSE THE PLASMA SHEET OVER DISTANCES EXTENDING INWARD FROM ~25 EARTH RADII FROM EARTH WHILE PROVIDING UNPRECEDENTED RESOLUTION FROM 4 POINTS IN A TETRAHEDRAL CONFIGURATION SEPARATED BY DISTANCES EXTENDING FROM MULTIPLE ION GYRO-RADII DOWN TO ELECTRON INERTIAL LENGTHS. THESE MEASUREMENTS COMBINED WITH THE NOVEL PHYSICS-BASED METHODOLOGY WE PROPOSE PROVIDE THE CAPACITY TO CHARACTERIZE THE ENERGY TRANSPORT PROCESS THROUGH THE PLASMA SHEET IN TERMS OF THE BULK TRANSPORT AND THE CONSTITUENT NORMAL MODES OF THE PLASMA. METHODOLOGY: THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES WILL BE ACHIEVED BY DIRECT EVALUATION OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS TO BULK ENERGY TRANSPORT AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A GENERALIZED DECOMPOSITION TECHNIQUE BASED ON A FLUID-KINETIC MODEL APPLIED TO THE 4-POINT MEASUREMENTS RETURN FROM MMS IN ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AND PLASMAS. THE DECOMPOSITION TECHNIQUE FILTERS THE OBSERVED ENERGY FLOWS INTO THE ELEMENTAL KINETIC AND MHD MODES OF THE PLASMA. INTERFEROMETRIC MEASUREMENTS FROM FOUR SC PROVIDES A SPECTRUM OF WAVEVECTORS SPANNING FLUID AND KINETIC SCALES THAT ALLOW STRAIGHTFORWARD MULTI-SCALE DECOMPOSITION AND FACILITATES STATISTICAL ANALYSES. THIS APPROACH WILL ENABLE THE EXTRACTION OF THE FIELD AND PLASMA VARIATIONS IN EACH MODE AND QUANTIFY THE CONTRIBUTION OF EACH TO THE TOTAL ENERGY TRANSPORT OBSERVED. FURTHERMORE IT WILL ALLOW THE EXAMINATION OF THE COUPLING AND CONVERSION BETWEEN MODES THAT MAY BE EXPECTED ON GRADIENTS IN THE PLASMA CHARACTERISTIC OF THE PLASMA SHEET AND OFTEN INVOKED IN THEORETICAL STUDIES OF PLASMA SHEET ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY TRANSPORT. THESE MEASUREMENTS WHEN COMBINED WITH THOSE OF THE BULK PARTICLE KINETIC AND ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY FLUX CHARACTERIZE THE ENERGY TRANSPORT OVER THE MMS TETRAHEDRON AND ADDRESS VIA STATISTICS THE VARIATION IN LOCAL TIME AND RADIAL DISTANCE. THESE OBSERVATIONS WILL PROVIDE SCALE DEPENDENT TOPOLOGICAL MAPS OF THE COMPOSITION OF ENERGY TRANSPORT THROUGH THE PLASMA SHEET. WITH THE THREE TAIL SEASONS FROM MMS PROVIDING COMPLETE FIELD AND PARTICLE MEASUREMENTS THERE IS MORE THAN SUFFICIENT DATA FOR THE PURSUIT OF THE SCIENCE WE PROPOSE. RELEVANCE: THE ENERGY TRANSPORT PHENOMENA WE PROPOSE TO EXAMINE IS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE ENERGY CONVERSION PROCESS THAT OCCURS THROUGH MAGNETIC RECONNECTION. THE RESEARCH IS THEREFORE RELEVANT TO MMS S OVERARCHING GOAL. MOREOVER THIS RESEARCH IS CENTRAL TO THE HELIOPHYSICS OBJECTIVE TO EXPLORE AND CHARACTERIZE THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES IN THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT FROM THE SUN TO THE HELIOPAUSE AND THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE.