Mars-Ward Ion Flows in the Martian Magnetotail: Mars Express Observations

Zhang, Chi; Futaana, Yoshifumi; Nilsson, Hans; Rong, Zhaojin; Persson, Moa; Klinger, Lucy; Wang, Xiaodong; Wieser, Gabriella Stenberg; Barabash, Stas; Dong, Chuanfei; Holmström, Mats; Soobiah, Yasir; Wei, Yong

doi:10.1029/2022gl100691

Title: Mars-Ward Ion Flows in the Martian Magnetotail: Mars Express Observations

Journal Article · Tue Nov 08 00:00:00 EST 2022 · Geophysical Research Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/2022gl100691· OSTI ID:1914086

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Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China); Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF), Kiruna (Sweden)
Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF), Kiruna (Sweden)
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China)
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Toulouse (France); Univ. of Tokyo (Japan)
Peking Univ., Beijing (China)
Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, MD (United States)

In this work, we investigate Mars-ward planetary ions (O⁺ and O₂⁺) in the Martian magnetotail that potentially reduce the amount of escaping ions. The global properties of Mars-ward flows in the Martian magnetotail are characterized, based on over 13-years of ion data (May 2007–December 2020) collected by the Analyzer of Space Plasma and Energetic Atoms instrument on Mars Express. We find that Mars-ward flows are frequently observed in the vicinity of the crustal fields, implying that crustal fields may play a key role in producing such flows. The occurrence rate and sunward flux are found higher during solar maximum than solar minimum. However, the occurrence rate and flux of Mars-ward flows are relatively low. This is different from the case at Venus, where the planetward flows can significantly decrease the total escape rates of ions.

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Research Organization:: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); European Space Agency; China Scholarship Council

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-09CH11466; 41922031; 41774188; XDA17010201; XDB41000000; ZDBS-SSW-TLC00103; IGGCAS- 201904; IGGCAS- 202102; 4000115355; 202104910297

OSTI ID:: 1914086

Journal Information:: Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 49, Issue 21; ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:: American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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