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Ion escape is of particular interest for studying the evolution of the atmosphere on geological timescales. Previously, using Cluster-CODIF data, we investigated the oxygen ion outflow from the plasma mantle for different solar wind conditions and geomagnetic activity. We found significant correlations between solar wind parameters, geomagnetic activity (Kp index), and the O+ outflow. From these studies, we suggested that O+ ions observed in the plasma mantle and cusp have enough energy and velocity to escape the magnetosphere and be lost into the solar wind or in the distant magnetotail. Thus, this study aims to investigate where the ions observed in the plasma mantle end up. In order to answer this question, we numerically calculate the trajectories of O+ ions using a tracing code to further test this assumption and determine the fate of the observed ions. Our code consists of a magnetic field model (Tsyganenko T96) and an ionospheric potential model (Weimer 2001) in which particles initiated in the plasma mantle region are launched and traced forward in time. We analysed 131 observations of plasma mantle events in Cluster data between 2001 and 2007, and for each event 200 O+ particles were launched with an initial thermal and parallel bulk velocity corresponding to the velocities observed by Cluster. After the tracing, we found that 98 % of the particles are lost into the solar wind or in the distant tail. Out of these 98 %, 20 % escape via the dayside magnetosphere.

The Antarctic and Arctic regions are Earth's open windows to outer space. They provide unique opportunities for investigating the troposphere–thermosphere–ionosphere–plasmasphere system at high latitudes, which is not as well understood as the mid- and low-latitude regions mainly due to the paucity of experimental observations. In addition, different neutral and ionised atmospheric layers at high latitudes are much more variable compared to lower latitudes, and their variability is due to mechanisms not yet fully understood. Fortunately, in this new millennium the observing infrastructure in Antarctica and the Arctic has been growing, thus providing scientists with new opportunities to advance our knowledge on the polar atmosphere and geospace. This review shows that it is of paramount importance to perform integrated, multi-disciplinary research, making use of long-term multi-instrument observations combined with ad hoc measurement campaigns to improve our capability of investigating atmospheric dynamics in the polar regions from the troposphere up to the plasmasphere, as well as the coupling between atmospheric layers. Starting from the state of the art of understanding the polar atmosphere, our survey outlines the roadmap for enhancing scientific investigation of its physical mechanisms and dynamics through the full exploitation of the available infrastructures for radio-based environmental monitoring.

WP8 includes eight Competence Centres (CCs) that work on establishing infrastructures to support users in coping with the data deluge in various compute intensive data analysis scenarios. This document provides the final report about the CC activities and informs readers about the use cases the CCs worked on, the implementations they reached in the past 3 years with the use of EOSC-hub and other EOSC-related services. The document also covers the impact of this work on the various research infrastructures and scientific communities that are linked to the CCs, and outlines future work for after EOSC-hub, based on the reported achievements.

We have investigated the consequences of extreme space weather on ion outflow from the polar ionosphere by analyzing the solar storm that occurred early September 2017, causing a severe geomagnetic storm. Several X‐flares and coronal mass ejections were observed between 4 and 10 September. The first shock—likely associated with a coronal mass ejection—hit the Earth late on 6 September, produced a storm sudden commencement, and began the initial phase of the storm. It was followed by a second shock, approximately 24 hr later, that initiated the main phase and simultaneously the Dst index dropped to Dst = −142 nT and Kp index reached Kp = 8. Using COmposition DIstribution Function data on board Cluster satellite 4, we estimated the ionospheric O+ outflow before and after the second shock. We found an enhancement in the polar cap by a factor of 3 for an unusually high ionospheric O+ outflow (mapped to an ionospheric reference altitude) of 1013 m−2 s−1. We suggest that this high ionospheric O+ outflow is due to a preheating of the ionosphere by the multiple X‐flares. Finally, we briefly discuss the space weather consequences on the magnetosphere as a whole and the enhanced O+ outflow in connection with enhanced satellite drag.

By conserving momentum during the mixing of fast solar wind flow and slow planetary ion flow in an inelastic way, mass loading converts kinetic energy to other forms – e.g. first to electrical energy through charge separation and then to thermal energy (randomness) through gyromotion of the newly born cold ions for the comet and Mars cases. Here, we consider the Earth's exterior cusp and plasma mantle, where the ionospheric origin escaping ions with finite temperatures are loaded into the decelerated solar wind flow. Due to direct connectivity to the ionosphere through the geomagnetic field, a large part of this electrical energy is consumed to maintain field-aligned currents (FACs) toward the ionosphere, in a similar manner as the solar wind-driven ionospheric convection in the open geomagnetic field region. We show that the energy extraction rate by the mass loading of escaping ions (ΔK) is sufficient to explain the cusp FACs, and that ΔK depends only on the solar wind velocity accessing the mass-loading region (usw) and the total mass flux of the escaping ions into this region (mloadFload), as ΔK ∼ −mloadFloadu2sw∕4. The expected distribution of the separated charges by this process also predicts the observed flowing directions of the cusp FACs for different interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) orientations if we include the deflection of the solar wind flow directions in the exterior cusp. Using empirical relations of u0 ∝ Kp + 1.2 and Fload ∝ exp(0.45Kp) for Kp = 1–7, where u0 is the solar wind velocity upstream of the bow shock, ΔK becomes a simple function of Kp as log10(ΔK) = 0.2 ⋅ Kp + 2 ⋅ log10(Kp + 1.2) + constant. The major contribution of this nearly linear increase is the Fload term, i.e. positive feedback between the increase of ion escaping rate Fload through the increased energy consumption in the ionosphere for high Kp, and subsequent extraction of more kinetic energy ΔK from the solar wind to the current system by the increased Fload. Since Fload significantly increases for increased flux of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation, high EUV flux may significantly enhance this positive feedback. Therefore, the ion escape rate and the energy extraction by mass loading during ancient Earth, when the Sun is believed to have emitted much higher EUV flux than at present, could have been even higher than the currently available highest values based on Kp = 9. This raises a possibility that the ion escape has substantially contributed to the evolution of the Earth's atmosphere.

We present a case study of inverse ion cyclotron damping taking place in the northern terrestrial magnetospheric cusp, exciting waves at the ion cyclotron frequency and its harmonics. The ion cyclo ...

Ion escape is of particular interest for studying the evolution of the atmosphere on geological time scales. Previously, using Cluster-CODIF data, we investigated the oxygen ion outflow from the plasma mantle for different solar wind conditions and geomagnetic activity. We found significant correlations between solar wind parameters, geomagnetic activity (Kp index) and the O+ outflow. From these studies, we suggested that O+ ions observed in the plasma mantle and cusp have enough energy and velocity to escape the magnetosphere and be lost into the solar wind or in the distant magnetotail. Thus, this study aims to investigate where do the ions observed in the plasma mantle end up. In order to answer this question, we numerically calculate the trajectories of O+ ions using a tracing code to further test this assumption and determine the fate of the observed ions. Our code consists of a magnetic field model (Tsyganenko T96) and an ionospheric potential model (Weimer 2001) in which particles initiated in the plasma mantle and cusp regions are launched and traced forward in time. We analysed 136 observations of plasma mantle or cusp events in Cluster data between 2001 and 2007, and for each event 200 O+ particles were launched with an initial parallel and perpendicular velocity corresponding to the bulk velocity observed by Cluster. From the observations, our results show that 93 % of the events have an initial parallel velocity component twice the initial perpendicular velocity. After the tracing, we found that 96 % of the particles are lost into the solar wind or in the distant tail. Out of these 96 %, 20 % escape into the dayside magnetosphere.

We have investigated the oxygen escape-to-capture ratio from the high altitude cusp regions for various geomagnetic activity levels by combining EDI and CODIF measurements from the Cluster spacecraft. Using Tsyganenko model, we traced the observed oxygen ions to one of three regions: plasma sheet, solar wind beyond distant X-line or dayside magnetosheath. Our results indicate that 69% of high altitude oxygen escapes the magnetosphere, from which most escape beyond the distant X-line (50% of total oxygen flux). Convection of oxygen to the plasma sheet shows a strong dependence on geomagnetic activity. We used the Dst index as a proxy for geomagnetic storms and separated data into quiet conditions (Dst>0nT), moderate conditions (0>Dst>20nT), and active conditions (DstE.

A one-dimensional direct simulation Monte Carlo model is used to study the outflow of O+ and H+ ions from 1.2 R-E to 15.2 R-E along two flight trajectories originating from the polar cap, namely, the central polar cap (CPC) and the cusp. To study the effect of varying geophysical conditions and to deduce the proper set of parameters, several parameters were varied, and the results were compared to corresponding data from Cluster spacecraft. First, several sets of diffusion coefficients were considered based on using diffusion coefficients calculated by Barghouthi et al. (1998), Nilsson et al. (2013), and Abudayyeh et al. (2015b) for different altitude intervals. It was found that in the central polar cap using the diffusion coefficients reported by Barghouthi et al. (1998) for altitudes lower than 3.7 R-E, zero diffusion coefficients between 3.7 and 7.5 R-E and diffusion coefficients from Nilsson et al. (2013) for altitudes higher than 7.5 R-E provide the best fit for O+ ions. For O+ ions in the cusp the best fit was obtained for using Barghouthi et al. (1998) diffusion coefficients for altitudes lower than 3.7 R-E and Nilsson et al. (2013) diffusion coefficients for altitudes higher than that. The best fit for H+ ions in both regions was obtained by using the diffusion coefficients calculated by Abudayyeh et al. (2015b). Also, it was found that along an ion's trajectory the most recent heating dominates. Second, the strength of centrifugal acceleration was varied by using three values for the ionospheric electric field, namely, 0, 50, and 100MV/m. It was found that the value of 50MV/m provided the best fit for both ion species in both regions. Finally, the lower altitude boundary conditions and the electron temperature were varied. Increasing the electron temperature and the lower altitude O+ parallel velocity were found to increase the access of O+ ions to higher altitudes and therefore increase the density at a given altitude. The variation of all other boundary conditions only affected the densities of the ions and not the other moments due to the overwhelming effect of wave-particle interaction. Furthermore, varying the parameters of one ion species has no effect on the other ion species. We also compared the energy gain per ion due to wave-particle interaction, centrifugal acceleration, and ambipolar electric field and found that wave-particle interaction is the most important mechanism, while ambipolar electric field is relatively unimportant especially at higher altitudes.

Source at https://doi.org/10.1029/2018SW001937. We present ionospheric plasma conditions observed by the EISCAT radars in Tromsø and on Svalbard, covering 68°–81° geomagnetic latitude, during 6–8 September 2017. This is a period when X2.2 and X9.3 X‐ray flares occurred, two interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) arrived at the Earth accompanied by enhancements of MeV‐range energetic particle flux in both the solar wind (SEP event) and inner magnetosphere, and an AL < −2,000 substorm took place. (1) Both X flares caused enhancement of ionospheric electron density for about 10 min. The X9.3 flare also increased temperatures of both electrons and ions over 69°–75° geomagnetic latitude until the X‐ray flux decreased below the level of X‐class flares. However, the temperature was not enhanced after the previous X2.2 flare in the prenoon sector. (2) At around 75° geomagnetic latitude, the prenoon ion upflow flux slightly increased the day after the X9.3 flare, which is also after the first ICME and a SEP event, while no outstanding enhancement was found at the time of these X flares. (3) The upflow velocity sometimes decreased when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) turned southward. (4) Before the first ICME arrival after the SEP event under weak IMF with Bz ~0 nT, a substorm‐like expansion of the auroral arc signature took place without local geomagnetic signature near local midnight, while no notable change was observed after the ICME arrival. (5) AL reached

The presence or absence of a magnetic field determines the nature of how a planet interacts with the solar wind and what paths are available for atmospheric escape. Magnetospheres form both around magnetised planets, such as Earth, and unmagnetised planets, like Mars and Venus, but it has been suggested that magnetised planets are better protected against atmospheric loss. However, the observed mass escape rates from these three planets are similar (in the approximate (0.5–2) kg s−1 range), putting this latter hypothesis into question. Modelling the effects of a planetary magnetic field on the major atmospheric escape processes, we show that the escape rate can be higher for magnetised planets over a wide range of magnetisations due to escape of ions through the polar caps and cusps. Therefore, contrary to what has previously been believed, magnetisation is not a sufficient condition for protecting a planet from atmospheric loss. Estimates of the atmospheric escape rates from exoplanets must therefore address all escape processes and their dependence on the planet’s magnetisation.

A Monte Carlo simulation was used to study the outflow of O+ and H+ ions along three flight trajectories above the polar cap up to altitudes of about 15 RE. Barghouthi (2008) developed a model on the basis of altitude and velocity-dependent wave-particle interactions and a radial geomagnetic field which includes the effects of ambipolar electric field and gravitational and mirror forces. In the present work we improve this model to include the effect of the centrifugal force, with the use of relevant boundary conditions. In addition, the magnetic field and flight trajectories, namely, the central polar cap (CPC), nightside polar cap (NPC), and cusp, were calculated using the Tsyganenko T96 model. To simulate wave-particle interactions, the perpendicular velocity diffusion coefficients for O+ ions in each region were determined such that the simulation results fit the observations. For H+ ions, a constant perpendicular velocity diffusion coefficient was assumed for all altitudes in all regions as recommended by Nilsson et al. (2013). The effect of centrifugal acceleration was simulated by considering three values for the ionospheric electric field: 0 (no centrifugal acceleration), 50, and 100 mV/m. It was found that the centrifugal acceleration increases the parallel bulk velocity and decreases the parallel and perpendicular temperatures of both ion species at altitudes above about 4 RE. Centrifugal acceleration also increases the temperature anisotropy at high altitudes. At a given altitude, centrifugal acceleration decreases the density of H+ ions while it increases the density of O+ ions. This implies that with higher centrifugal acceleration more O+ ions overcome the potential barrier. It was also found that aside from two exceptions centrifugal acceleration has the same effect on the velocities of both ions. This implies that the centrifugal acceleration is universal for all particles. The parallel bulk velocities at a given value of ionospheric electric field were highest in the cusp followed by the CPC followed by the NPC. In this study a region of no wave-particle interaction was assumed in the CPC and NPC between 3.7 and 7.5 RE. In this region the perpendicular temperature was found to decrease with altitude due to perpendicular adiabatic cooling.

Recent studies have shown that the escape of oxygen ions (O+) into the magnetosheath along open magnetic field lines from the terrestrial cusp and mantle is significant. We present a study of how O+ transport in the dayside magnetosheath depends on the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) direction. There are clear asymmetries in the O+ flows for southward and northward IMF. The asymmetries can be understood in terms of the different magnetic topologies that arise due to differences in the location of the reconnection site, which depends on the IMF direction. During southward IMF, most of the observed magnetosheath O+ is transported downstream. In contrast, for northward IMF we observe O+ flowing both downstream and equatorward towards the opposite hemisphere. We observe evidence of dual-lobe reconnection occasionally taking place during strong northward IMF conditions, a mechanism that may trap O+ and bring it back into the magnetosphere. Its effect on the overall escape is however small: we estimate the upper limit of trapped O+ to be 5%, a small number considering that ion flux calculations are rough estimates. The total O+ escape flux is higher by about a factor of 2 during times of southward IMF, in agreement with earlier studies of O+ cusp outflow.

Studies on terrestrial oxygen ion (O+) escape into the interplanetary space have considered a number of different escape paths. Recent observations however suggest a yet insufficiently investigated additional escape route for hot O+: along open magnetic field lines in the high altitude cusp and mantle. Here we present a statistical study on O+ flux in the high-latitude dayside magnetosheath. The O+ is generally seen relatively close to the magnetopause, consistent with observations of O+ flowing primarily tangentially to the magnetopause. We estimate the total escape flux in this region to be ~ 7 × 1024 s−1, implying this escape route to significantly contribute to the overall total O+ loss into interplanetary space.

[1] Cluster observations of oxygen ion outflow and low-frequency waves at high altitude above the polar cap and cold ion outflow in the lobes are used to determine ion heating rates and low-altitude boundary conditions suitable for use in numerical models of ion outflow. Using our results, it is possible to simultaneously reproduce observations of high-energy O+ ions in the high-altitude cusp and mantle and cold H+ ions in the magnetotail lobes. To put the Cluster data in a broader context, we first compare the average observed oxygen temperatures and parallel velocities in the high-altitude polar cap with the idealized cases of auroral (cusp) and polar wind (polar cap) ion outflow obtained from a model based on other data sets. A cyclotron resonance model using average observed electric field spectral densities as input fairly well reproduces the observed velocities and perpendicular temperatures of both hot O+ and cold H+, if we allow the fraction of the observed waves, which is efficient in heating the ions to increase with altitude and decrease toward the nightside. Suitable values for this fraction are discussed based on the results of the cyclotron resonance model. Low-altitude boundary conditions, ion heating rates, and centrifugal acceleration are presented in a format suitable as input for models aiming to reproduce the observations.

We have used Cluster spacecraft data from the years 2001 to 2005 to study how oxygen ions respond to bursty bulk flows (BBFs) as identified from proton data. We here define bursty bulk flows as periods of proton perpendicular velocities more than 100 km/s and a peak perpendicular velocity in the structure of more than 200 km/s, observed in a region with plasma beta above 1 in the near-Earth central tail region. We find that during proton BBFs only a minor increase in the O+ velocity is seen. The different behavior of the two ion species is further shown by statistics of H+ and O+ flow also outside BBFs: For perpendicular earthward velocities of H+ above about 100 km/s, the O+ perpendicular velocity is consistently lower, most commonly being a few tens of kilometers per second earthward. In summary, O+ ions in the plasma sheet experience less acceleration than H+ ions and are not fully frozen in to the magnetic field. Therefore, H+ and O+ motion is decoupled, and O+ ions have a slower earthward motion. This is particularly clear during BBFs. This may add further to the increased relative abundance of O+ ions in the plasma sheet during magnetic storms. The data indicate that O+ is typically less accelerated in association with plasma sheet X lines as compared to H+.

We present a comparative study of low frequency electric field spectral densities and temperatures observed by the Cluster spacecraft in the high altitude cusp/mantle region. We compare the relation between the O+ temperature and wave intensity at the oxygen gyrofrequency at each measurement point and find a clear correlation. The trend of the correlation agrees with the predictions by both an asymptotic mean-particle theory and a test-particle approach. The perpendicular to parallel temperature ratio is also consistent with the predictions of the asymptotic mean-particle theory. At times the perpendicular temperature is significantly higher than predicted by the models. A simple study of the evolution of the particle distributions (conics) at these altitudes indicates that enhanced perpendicular temperatures would be observed over many RE after heating ceases. Therefore, sporadic intense heating is the likely explanation for cases with high temperature and comparably low wave activity. We observe waves of sufficient amplitude to explain the highest observed temperatures, while the theory in general overestimates the temperature associated with the highest observed wave activity, indicating that such high wave activity is very sporadic.

We present a statistical study of the low (

We use the Cluster spacecraft to study three events with intense waves and energetic oxygen ions (O+) in the high altitude cusp and mantle. The ion energies considered are of the order 1000 eV and higher, observed above an altitude of 8 earth radii together with high wave power at the O+ gyrofrequency. We show that heating by waves can explain the observed high perpendicular energy of O+ ions, using a simple gyroresonance model and 25–45% of the observed wave spectral density at the gyrofrequency. This is in contrast to a recently published study where the wave intensity was too low to explain the observed high altitude ion energies. Long lasting cases (>10 min) of high perpendicular-to-parallel temperature ratios are sometimes associated with low wave activity, suggesting that high perpendicular-to-parallel temperature ratio is not a good indicator of local heating. Using multiple spacecraft, we show that the regions of enhanced wave activity are at least one order of magnitude larger than the gyroradius of the heated ions.

[1] Ions apparently emanating from the same source, the ionospheric polar cap, can either end up as energized to keV energies in the high-altitude cusp/mantle, or appear as cold ions in the magnetotail lobes. We use Cluster observations of ions and wave electric fields to study the spatial variation of ion heating in the cusp/mantle and polar cap. The average flow direction in a simplified cylindrical coordinate system is used to show approximate average ion flight trajectories, and discuss the temperatures, fluxes and wave activity along some typical trajectories. It is found that it is suitable to distinguish between cusp, central and nightside polar cap ion outflow trajectories, though O+ heating is mainly a function of altitude. Furthermore we use typical cold ion parallel velocities and the observed average perpendicular drift to obtain average cold ion flight trajectories. The data show that the cusp is the main source of oxygen ion outflow, whereas a polar cap source would be consistent with our average outflow paths for cold ions observed in the lobes. A majority of the cusp O+ flux is sufficiently accelerated to escape into interplanetary space. A scenario with significant oxygen ion heating in regions with strong magnetosheath origin ion fluxes, cold proton plasma dominating at altitudes below about 8 RE in the polar cap, and most of the cusp oxygen outflow overcoming gravity and flowing out in the cusp and mantle is consistent with our observations.

[1] We present a case study of high energy oxygen ions (O+) observed in the dayside terrestrial magnetosheath, in the southern hemisphere. It is shown that the presence of O+ is strongly correlated to the IMF direction: O+ is observed only for Bz < 0. Three satellites observe O+ immediately at both sides of the magnetopause and about 2 RE outside the magnetopause. These conditions indicate escape along open magnetic field lines. We show that if outflowing O+ is heated and accelerated sufficiently in the cusp, it takes 15–20 minutes for it to reach the magnetopause, allowing the ions to escape along newly opened field lines on the dayside. Earlier studies show evidence of strong heating and high velocities of O+ in the cusp and mantle at high altitudes, strengthening our interpretation. The observed magnetosheath O+ fluxes are of the same order as measured in the ionospheric upflow, which indicates that this loss mechanism is significant when it takes place.

We explore effects of the Shakura-Sunyaev alpha-viscosity on the dynamics and oscillations of slender tori. We start with a slow secular evolution of the torus. We show that the angular-momentum profile approaches the Keplerian one on the timescale longer than a dynamical one by a factor of the order of 1/\alpha. Then we focus our attention on the oscillations of the torus. We discuss effects of various angular momentum distributions. Using a perturbation theory, we have found a rather general result that the high-order acoustic modes are damped by the viscosity, while the high-order inertial modes are enhanced. We calculate a viscous growth rates for the lowest-order modes and show that already lowest-order inertial mode is unstable for less steep angular momentum profiles or very close to the central gravitating object., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted by PASJ

We calculated the coupling coefficients for non-linear, quasi-local oscillatory modes of thin accretion disks. We found that several of them are non-zero. Mode coupling is a necessary condition for a resonance, and thus our results may be relevant for the recently discussed QPO resonance model., 15 pages, to be published in PASJ Vol. 60 No. 3