Plasma flows, electric fields and currents in the Earth’s ionosphere

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As the solar wind and the embedded interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) stream past the Earth, the charged-particle plasma in the Earth’s magnetosphere (the magnetic field region surrounding the Earth) is driven into continuous motion. The magnetospheric voltage generated by such motion produces currents that flow along magnetic field lines to the ionosphere only ~100 km above the Earth. The current then flows horizontally in the ionosphere before returning upward to the magnetosphere. The currents, voltages, and high-energy particles accelerated from the magnetosphere into the ionosphere not only are hazardous to astronauts and satellite electronics such as GPS systems in space, but also cause power blackouts and lead to pipeline corrosion and rupture on the ground.