Chapman Conference on Ionospheric Plasma in the Magnetosphere

An AGU Chapman Conference dedicated to discussion of the role of ionospheric plasma in the magnetosphere was held in Yosemite, Calif., during February 3–6, 1986. Conference sponsors were the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Office of Space Science and Applications, and the American Geophysical Union. The conference was structured around three major topics: the sources of ionospheric plasma in the magnetosphere, the mechanisms for ionospheric outflow into the magnetosphere, and the consequences of ionospheric plasma in the magnetosphere. Experimental data was presented to illustrate the outflow of ionospheric ions from the dayside cusp/cleft region and from regions of electron precipitation, as well as ion outflows associated with Birkeland currents and inverted V events. The interaction between these ionospheric ions and magnetospheric particles and fields was explored, with special attention to the generation of waves and to the subsequent nonlinear interaction of the waves back on the plasma. Topics of interest included the generation of broadband electrostatic noise and the heating of light ion populations near the magnetic equator. Special emphasis was placed on the mechanisms of transverse ion energization responsible for the formation of ion conies, particularly the heating that is associated with ion cyclotron waves, lower hybrid waves, and electrostatic shocks.