Energetic Ion Composition in the Earth's Magnetosphere: A Volume in the Advances in Earth and Planetary Sciences Series

Abstract

This book originated from 10 invited papers presented at the Symposium on the Role of Ion Composition in Understanding Magnetospheric Processes, which was held in August 1981 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Now, 15 independent papers comprise the volume, of which five are theoretically oriented and 10 are observational in nature, being principally summaries of earlier work.The opening sentence of this volume begins, “In more innocent times it was believed…”—a wonderfully appealing introduction to many an exciting tale of adventure and enchantment. While the remaining prose does not match the spirit of this introductory phrase, the story told collectively by the 15 papers is, in proper perspective, exciting and adventurous. The implied loss of innocence is a reality and was, to my mind, necessary. It was necessary in order to establish a truer observational framework for magnetospheric physics and to get on with the effort of trying to understand this cosmic plasma environment in which we reside. However, the spirit of that early innocence must be kept alive if we are to see the excitement and beauty in the present and future phases of our research.