Inner Magnetosphere Interactions: New Perspectives From Imaging

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 159.

We regard the inner magnetosphere as the region surrounded by a geomagnetic shell with an equatorial radius of approximately eight Earth radii. Of much concern to scientists and researchers, and the focus of this monograph, are the interactions that occur in this region of geospace. We include here hot-cold plasma interactions, plasmasphere dynamics, direct effects of the interplanetary magnetic field on the inner magnetosphere, ring-current/ionosphere interactions, ring-current effects on global electric fields, and ring-current/radiation-belt interactions. With new satellite measurements, especially those from IMAGE (Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration), and associated observations from ground-based facilities, our understanding of the interactions that take place in the inner magnetosphere has developed rapidly.