Martian crustal field influence on O+ and O2+ escape as measured by MAVEN

Abstract

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Mars‐Ward Ion Flows in the Martian Magnetotail: Mars Express Observations

“…The third difference is that Mars possesses localized intense crustal fields, which could organize the plasma dynamics (e.g., Soobiah et al, 2013Soobiah et al, , 2019Weber et al, 2021). Here we provide several possible mechanisms.…”

Distribution of O⁺ and ${\text{O}}_{\text{2}}^{\text{+}}$ fluxes and their escape rates in the near-Mars magnetotail: A survey of MAVEN observations

“…However, a detailed explanation of the complex dependence of the Martian magnetotail escape rate on the local magnetic field is beyond the scope of this study. Weber et al (2021) suggested that the presence of a local-scale magnetic shielding suppresses local ion escape in some cases by up to 80%. An analysis of the statistical results by Lundin et al (2011) suggests that dayside "mini-magnetospheres" can play an important role in reducing tail transport and escape of the ionospheric plasma.…”

“…Thus, we can extrapolate that the small escape rate for the high magnetic field intensity is due to the enhanced shielding of the ionosphere by the local fields. Furthermore, the local crustal fields that normally withstand solar wind erosion may be completely overwhelmed during periods of increased solar wind pressure (Weber et al, 2021), which could explain the greater effect on ion escape of the solar wind dynamic pressure than the local magnetic fields.…”

Magnetic Fields and Plasma Motions in a Hybrid Martian Magnetosphere

“…Precipitation of electrons along the open field lines produce discrete aurora typical for the Earth magnetosphere (Girazian et al, 2021;Lillis et al, 2018;Schneider et al, 2021). It is worth noting that crustal magnetic fields on Mars not only change the field topology but also significantly vary the density distribution in the upper ionosphere (Andrews et al, 2013;Dubinin et al, 2012Dubinin et al, , 2016 and influence the ion loss (Dubinin, Fraenz, et al, 2020;Fan et al, 2019Fan et al, , 2020Fang et al, 2015Fang et al, , 2017Weber et al, 2021).…”