Ionospheric and Solar Wind Contributions to the Storm-time Near-Earth
Plasma Sheet
Abstract
The storm-time ring current is formed by the inward convection of the
near-earth plasma sheet, so understanding the changing source of the
plasma sheet is key for understanding ring current development. The
ionospheric and solar wind sources can be distinguished by the charge
state of the heavy ions; solar wind ions are highly iononized, while
ionospheric ions are predominantly singly ionized. AMPTE/CHEM
measurements are used to track the changing composition in the 6-9 Re
plasma sheet as a storm develops in order to determine the fraction of
the population that comes from each source. We find that prior to the
storm, the solar wind source dominates. The source transitions sharply
to ionospheric plasma during the storm main phase, and returns to solar
wind plasma during the recovery phase.