M-I Coupling: Incoherent Scatter Radar Measurements of Ion Upflow: Establishing Ionospheric Boundary Conditions for Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Mass Coupling

航天器观测已经确定了不同太阳和星际风输入、季节和当地时间的离子流出的一般特性，但它们还没有提供对能够最有效地提取离子的电离层条件的了解。该项目将利用非相干散射雷达(ISR)数据以及卫星/雷达连接来确定与离子外流事件相关的场向离子数通量、电子密度、电子温度和离子温度的高度分布。该项目将确定在电离层F区产生离子上行的离子带电与在较高海拔产生离子流出的带电过程有何关系。它将量化作为外部能量输入(来自对流电场、粒子降水和EUV照射)和电离层边界条件的外部能量输入在电离层上方的净向上离子通量。将使用一个跨越一个太阳周期的扩展的ISR数据库，在极光椭圆形边界的参照系中对相同的电离层参数及其垂直梯度进行统计量化，作为粒子降水、热通量、对流电场和太阳照度的函数。该项目具有强大的社会影响，因为它将使空间研究离实现空间天气预测能力更近一步。目前，磁层的磁流体力学模型已经有了成熟的描述太阳风质量负荷的形式，但缺乏描述电离层质量负荷的形式。该项目生成的统计图将为所有离子提取模型确定下边界条件，而该下边界条件又可与MHD磁层模型的上边界条件相结合，以产生磁层电离层质量负荷的自洽图景。结果将在可公开访问的文件传输协议和SRI国际网站上公布。

Spacecraft observations have established the general properties of ion outflows for different solar and interplanetary wind inputs, seasons, and local times, but they have not provided an understanding of what the ionospheric conditions are that enables the most efficient ion extraction. This project will utilize Incoherent Scatter radar (ISR) data along with satellite/radar conjunctions to determine the altitude profiles of field-aligned ion number flux, electron density, electron temperature, and ion temperature associated with ion outflow events. The project will determine how the ion energization that produces ion upflows in the F region of the ionosphere relates to energization processes that produce ion outflows at higher altitudes. It will quantify the net upward ion flux above the topside ionosphere as a function of external energy input (from the convection electric field, particle precipitation and EUV irradiation) and ionospheric boundary conditions. An expanded ISR database, spanning one solar cycle, will be used to quantify statistically the same ionospheric parameters and their vertical gradients as functions of particle precipitation, heat flux, convection electric field, and solar illumination in the frame of reference of auroral oval boundaries. The project has a strong societal impact because it will bring space research one step closer to achieving a predictive space weather capability. At the present time, MHD models of the magnetosphere have a well-developed formalism to describe mass loading from the solar wind, but they lack a formalism to describe mass loading from the ionosphere. The statistical maps generated by this project will establish the lower boundary condition for all ion extraction models, which in turn can be coupled to upper boundary conditions from the MHD magnetosphere models to produce a self-consistent picture of ionospheric mass loading of the magnetosphere. The results will be made available on publicly accessible FTP and websites at SRI International.