Abstract

Ion outflow helps to maintain the density of the magnetosphere by moving ions up from the ionosphere. There are two sets of mechanisms involved in producing the outflow that have been observed by satellites such as FAST. The first involves moving ions up into the energization region and the secon... Show moreIon outflow helps to maintain the density of the magnetosphere by moving ions up from the ionosphere. There are two sets of mechanisms involved in producing the outflow that have been observed by satellites such as FAST. The first involves moving ions up into the energization region and the second involves the energization processes themselves. Among the energization processes in the ionosphere that can cause upwelling is frictional heating. In a previous study we used a trajectory analysis package to determine the residence of flux tubes in the auroral oval. We apply this package here to determine how much frictional heating occurs in the flux tube while it is resident in the auroral oval and see how this relates to the ion temperature changes in the flux tube. The results are presented as a contour map of frictional heating which show the total energy input both in terms of per unit volume and per unit mass. We also plot the time evolution of the heating for several flux tube in the auroral oval. Show less