The plasmasphere and advances in plasmaspheric research

A review is made of recent major advances in plasmaspheric research; important results have emerged from those concerning a variety of plasmasphere features. Both experiments and modeling efforts have progressed. A number of unknowns still persist, however, but research is underway toward their clarification. These clarifications are essential for obtaining a predictive capability of the near-Earth space weather in the plasmasphere region. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.