Studies of the Ionosphere and Plasmasphere

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This grant supports continued studies of the earth's ionosphere and plasmasphere. The proposed tasks for the next three years again concentrate on the subauroral and high latitude ionospheres and are a natural continuation and extension of past work. It is planned to expand the studies of the subauroral ionosphere with investigations into (1) the evolution of high altitude subauroral ion and electron heat flows during magnetic storms, (2) the aeronomical effects of observed soft electron and soft ion precipitation peaks, (3) processes responsible for ion and electron precipitation in this region, and (4) magnetospheric emissions triggered by ionospheric coupling. Planned studies of ion outflows, encompassing both high- and mid-latitude regions, include: (1) physical processes responsible for He+-dominated ion outflows, and (2) mid-latitude heavy ion upwelling events.