About this Research Topic
The goal of this Research Topic is to address the gap between our ground and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) spacecraft observations and our state of the art global magnetosphere models. Accomplishing this will require: 1) understanding the ionospheric signatures of magnetic reconnection on multiple scales, 2) assessing the current capabilities of global models in predicting the ionospheric signatures of magnetic
reconnection, and 3) prioritizing the advances in global modeling that will be needed to take full advantage of the ground and LEO observations that will be available in the next decade.
In this Research Topic, we'd like to address the following questions:
1. What ground and LEO spacecraft observations do we need to understand the ionospheric signatures of mesoscale (several Earth radii) and microscale (particle Larmor radii) reconnection in Earth's magnetosphere?
2. What are the ionospheric signatures of mesoscale and microscale reconnection structures at the magnetopause?
3. What are the ionospheric signatures of mesoscale and microscale reconnection structures in the magnetotail?
4. How capable are current state of the art global models of predicting the ionospheric signatures of mesoscale
and microscale reconnection?
5. What advances in global modeling are needed to take full advantage of the ground LEO spacecraft observations that will be available in the next decade?
We would like to invite contributions to these topics in the form of Perspective and Opinion articles. Reviews, Mini Reviews, Original Research and Brief Research Reports are also welcome.
Keywords: Magnetic Reconnection, Magnetosphere, Ionosphere, Polar Cusp, Aurora
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.