Annales Geophysicae
Annales Geophysicae
ANGEO
Articles | Volume 38, issue 3
Articles | Volume 38, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-645-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-645-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 38, issue 3
Regular paper
 | 
03 Jun 2020
Regular paper |  | 03 Jun 2020

The fate of O+ ions observed in the plasma mantle: particle tracing modelling and cluster observations

Audrey Schillings, Herbert Gunell, Hans Nilsson, Alexandre De Spiegeleer, Yusuke Ebihara, Lars G. Westerberg, Masatoshi Yamauchi, and Rikard Slapak

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-38-645-2020-supplement

Model code and software

ham - a particle tracing code for Earth's magnetosphere H. Gunell, A. De Spiegeleer, and A. Schillings https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3466771

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Short summary
The Earth's atmosphere is constantly losing molecules and charged particles, amongst them oxygen ions or O+. Quantifying this loss provides information about the evolution of the atmosphere on geological timescales. In this study, we investigate the final destination of O+ observed with Cluster satellites in a high-altitude magnetospheric region (plasma mantle) by tracing the particles forward in time using simulations. We find that approximately 98 % of O+ escapes the Earth's magnetosphere.
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