Ion transport and loss in the earth's quiet ring current. I - Data and standard model

A study of the transport and loss of ions in the earth's quiet time ring current, in which the standard radial diffusion model developed for the high-energy radiation belt particles is compared with the measurements of the lower-energy ring current ions, is presented. The data set provides ionic composition information in an energy range that includes the bulk of the ring current energy density, 1-300 keV/e. Protons are found to dominate the quiet time energy density at all altitudes, peaking near L of about 4 at 60 keV/cu cm, with much smaller contributions from O(+) (1-10 percent), He(+) (1-5 percent), and He(2+) (less than 1 percent). A minimization procedure is used to fit the amplitudes of the standard electric radial diffusion coefficient, yielding 5.8 x 10 exp -11 R(E-squared)/s. Fluctuation ionospheric electric fields are suggested as the source of the additional diffusion detected.