Macroscopic ion acceleration associated with the formation of the ring current in the earth's magnetosphere

As an illustration of the operation of macroscopic ion acceleration processes within the earth's magnetosphere, the paper reviews processes thought to be associated with the formation of the earth's ring-current populations. Arguing that the process of global, quasi-curl-free convection cannot explain particle characteristics observed in the middle (geosynchronous) to outer regions, it is concluded that the transport and energization of the seed populations that give rise to the ring-current populations come about in two distinct stages involving distinct processes. Near and outside the geostationary region, the energization and transport are always associated with highly impulsive and relatively localized processes driven by inductive electric fields. The subsequent adiabatic earthward transport is driven principally by enhanced, curl-free global convection fields.