High-altitude observations of the polar wind

T. E. Moore (1) , C. R. Chappell (1) , M. O. Chandler (1) , P. D. Craven (1) , B. L. Giles (1) , C. J. Pollock (2) , J. L. Burch (2) , D. T. Young (2) , J. H. Waite Jr. (2) , J. E. Nordholt (3) , M. F. Thomsen (3) , D. J. Mccomas (3) , Jean-Jacques Berthelier (4) , W. S. Williamson (5) , R. Robson (5) , F. S. Mozer (6)

1 MSFC - NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
2 SwRI - Southwest Research Institute [San Antonio]
3 LANL - Los Alamos National Laboratory
4 CETP - Centre d'étude des environnements terrestre et planétaires
5 HRL - Hughes Research Laboratories
6 SSL - Space Sciences Laboratory [Berkeley]

Plasma outflows, escaping from Earth through the high-altitude polar caps into the tail of the magnetosphere, have been observed with a xenon plasma source instrument to reduce the floating potential of the POLAR spacecraft. The largest component of H+ flow, along the local magnetic field, is faster than predicted by theory. The flows contain more O+ than predicted by theories of thermal polar wind but also have elevated ion temperatures. These plasma outflows contribute to the plasmas energized in the elongated nightside tail of the magnetosphere, creating auroras, substorms, and storms. They also constitute an appreciable loss of terrestrial water dissociation products into space.

Domains: Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics [physics.ao-ph]; Ocean, Atmosphere

T. E. Moore, C. R. Chappell, M. O. Chandler, P. D. Craven, B. L. Giles, et al.. High-altitude observations of the polar wind. Science, 1997, 277 (5324), pp.349-351. ⟨10.1126/science.277.5324.349⟩. ⟨insu-01676904⟩