4 CONTEMPORARY-ISSUES CONCERNING IONOSPHERIC PLASMA-FLOW TO THE MAGNETOSPHERE

In this review, we examine four specific questions/issues of contempor ary interest within the overall topic of ionospheric plasma outflow in to the magnetosphere. These four question areas are framed here as: (1 ) Are high-latitude F-region upflows predominantly driven by soft auro ral electron precipitation?; (2) Is the O+ within the polar cap magnet osphere supplied primarily by the cleft ion fountain or a direct polar cap ionospheric source?; (3) Is centrifugal acceleration an important mechanism in the acceleration of ionospheric plasma outflows?; and (4 ) Are lobe ionospheric outflows captured by the plasma sheet?