HR: 08:15h
AN: SM31E-02    [Abstracts]
TI: New Measurements of Plasma Ion Composition at Geosynchronous Orbit
AU: * MacDonald, E A
EM: macdonald@lanl.gov
AF: Space Science and Applications, MS D466 Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States
AU: Funsten, H O
EM: hfunsten@lanl.gov
AF: Space Science and Applications, MS D466 Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States
AU: Thomsen, M F
EM: mthomsen@lanl.gov
AF: Space Science and Applications, MS D466 Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States
AU: Dors, E E
EM: edors@lanl.gov
AF: Space Science and Applications, MS D466 Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States
AU: Jordanova, V K
EM: vania@lanl.gov
AF: Space Science and Applications, MS D466 Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, United States
AB: Next generation plasma spectrometer data with ion composition capability will be available on government satellites at geosynchronous orbit beginning in 2007. This capability has not been fielded directly at geosynchronous orbit in over 20 years. We anticipate significant gains in understanding the role of heavy ionospheric ions, their energization, and their transport through the magnetosphere. Oxygen can dominate the composition of the plasma sheet and ring current during the largest geomagnetic storms, and thus is important to monitor and understand. In addition, this new capability will enable more accurate ring current modeling, of critical importance to space weather applications. Initial observations will be presented along with assessment of the new ion composition measurement technique utilized in the limited resource plasma spectrometer.
DE: 2736 Magnetosphere/ionosphere interactions (2431)
DE: 2764 Plasma sheet
DE: 2778 Ring current
DE: 2794 Instruments and techniques
SC: SPA-Magnetospheric Physics [SM]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting