Investigation into the spatial and temporal coherence of ionospheric outflow on January 9-12, 1997

Long-term average ion outflow data derived from the Dynamics Explorer 1 energetic ion mass spectrometer data revealed very strong correlation between the net global ion outflow rate and measures of geomagnetic and solar activity as parameterized by the 3 h K_p, 1 h A_E and D_st, and daily F_10.7 indices. We use mass-resolved ion outflow observations from the Akebono, Polar, and FAST satellites obtained during a four day interval to assess the temporal and spatial coherence of ionospheric outflow on shorter time and smaller spatial scales. We find no relationship between locally measured ion outflow and a 5 min resolution global monitor of energy exchanged between the ionosphere and magnetosphere. We discuss the implications of this result on models of the magnetosphere that include transport of ions from the ionosphere through the various regions of the magnetosphere.