HR: 08:40h
AN: P51E-03 INVITED     [Abstracts]
TI: Ion Mass-loading and Time Variability in the Saturn's Magnetosphere
AU: * Hansen, K C
EM: kenhan@umich.edu
AF: University of Michigan, Space Research Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 United States
AU: Gombosi, T I
P51E-03 AF: University of Michigan, Space Research Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 United States
AU: Arridge, C S
P51E-03 AF: Imperial College London, Blackett Lab Prince Ct Rd, South Kensington, SW7 2BZ United Kingdom
AU: Coates, A J
P51E-03 AF: University College London, Mullard Space Science Lab Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, RH5 6NT United Kingdom
AU: Esposito, L W
P51E-03 AF: University of Colorado/LASP, LASP Campus Box 392, Boulder, CO 80309-0392 United States
AU: Kurth, W S
P51E-03 AF: University of Iowa, Department of Physics & Astronomy 210 VAN, Iowa City, IA 52242-1479 United States
AU: Leisner, J S
P51E-03 AF: University of California Los Angeles, 6862 Slichter Hall Box 951567, Los Angeles, CA 90095 United States
AU: Mitchell, D G
P51E-03 AF: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, MP3-E13211100 Johns Hopkins Rd, Laurel, MD 20723-6099 United States
AU: Richardson, J D
P51E-03 AF: MIT, Ctr Space Research, Cambridge, MA 02139 United States
AU: Russell, C T
P51E-03 AF: University of California Los Angeles, 6862 Slichter Hall Box 951567, Los Angeles, CA 90095 United States
AU: Rymer, A M
P51E-03 AF: University College London, Mullard Space Science Lab Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, RH5 6NT United Kingdom
AU: Sittler, E
P51E-03 AF: NASA Goddard SFC, MC 692, Greenbelt, MD 20771 United States
AU: Thomsen, M F
P51E-03 AF: Los Alamos National Lab, MS D466, Los Alamos, NM 87545 United States
AU: Waite, J H
P51E-03 AF: University of Michigan, Space Research Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 United States
AB: Understanding the transport of plasma in rapidly rotating magnetospheres, such as Jupiter and Saturn, has been a major topic of study during the Galileo era and now continues with Cassini's arrival at Saturn. At Saturn, the instruments on the Cassini spacecraft are providing new and exciting data about the source and transport of plasma. At the center of the plasma transport problem is the internal source of plasma. At Saturn, sources can be placed in two groups: (1) Titan and (2) the inner icy satellites and rings. Studies conducted over the last several years have lead to the prediction of a very high ion mass-loading rate due to the rings and icy satellites that peaks near the orbit of Enceladus. As yet, processes such as sublimation and ion sputtering for the rings and Enceladus are not sufficient to explain the necessary source of the water group neutrals. The arrival of Cassini to Saturn has resulted in new measurements by several different instruments that shed light on the neutral production rate. We will present the current status of our understanding of the ion mass-loading process. Plasma added near Enceladus must eventually leave the Saturn system. Understanding the global transport of plasma of Saturn's magnetosphere is a major goal of the Cassini mission. New measurements have been made which indicate that in the middle and outer magnetosphere is very dynamic. The MIMI Ion Neutral Camera, for example, observes abrupt increases in the energetic neutral atom flux coming from the tail that they attribute to sub-storm like events. Global MHD simulations of the Saturn system have shown periodic plasmoid ejections that share some features of the MIMI results. Other instruments also observe periodic behavior. We will present data from several different teams that examine the time variability and plasma transport.
DE: 2731 Magnetosphere: outer
DE: 2740 Magnetospheric configuration and dynamics
DE: 5737 Magnetospheres (2756)
DE: 5780 Tori and exospheres
DE: 6275 Saturn
SC: Planetary Sciences [P]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005