Combined in situ and remote sensing of ionospheric ion outflow    

S. A. Fuselier, E. S. Claflin, S. B. Mende, C. W. Carlson, and T. E. Moore    


Images of charge-exchanged neutrals from ion outflow during a period of substorm
 recovery are supported by simultaneous in situ ion outflow measurements and
images of the  auroral oval. From these combined remote sensing and in situ
measurements, the ion outflow is  shown to consist of ion conics. The energy of
these conics likely increases as they rise out of the  EarthÕs ionosphere. Above
~1.6 RE, the conic thermal energy is >10 eV while at ~0.7 RE, it is  below this
value. The outflow occurs over the entire dayside auroral oval at high
latitudes,  including the cusp, where auroral emissions are relatively weak.
Outflow on the nightside may  be weaker than on the dayside and/or may have a
different energy-altitude dependence.  

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Submitted to Geophysical Research Letters, 2005