DYNAMICS OF THE CRRES BARIUM RELEASES IN THE MAGNETOSPHERE

The Combined Release and Radiation Effects satellite (CRRES) G-2, G-3, and G-4 ionized and neutral barium cloud positions are triangulated f rom ground-based optical data; From the time history of the ionized cl oud motion perpendicular to the magnetic field, the late time coupling of the ionized cloud with the collisionless ambient plasma in the mag netosphere is investigated for each of the releases. The coupling of t he ionized clouds with the ambient medium is qualitatively consistent with predictions from theory in that the coupling time increases with increasing distance from the Earth. Quantitative comparison with simpl e theory for the coupling time also yields reasonable agreement. Other effects not predicted by the theory are discussed in the context of t he observations.