Influence of ion outflow in coupled geospace simulations: 1. Physics-based ion outflow model development and sensitivity study

First, the entire coupled model conserves mass between the ionospheric and magnetospheric portions, meaning the amount of outflow produced is limited by realistic photochemistry in the ionosphere. Second, under intense driving conditions, the outflow becomes flux limited by what the ionosphere is capable of providing. Furthermore, the outflows produced exhibit realistic temporal and spatial delays relative to the magnetospheric energy inputs.

The coupled model provides a flexible way to explore the impacts of dynamic heavy ion outflow on the coupled geospace system. Some of the example simulations presented exhibit internally driven sawtooth oscillations associated with the outflow, and the properties of these oscillations are analyzed further in a companion paper.