Intensity variations in plasma flow at the dawn magnetopause

Voyager 1, exiting the earth's magnetosphere along the dawn meridian at a velocity of ~11 km/sec, measured strong tailward flows of ions (E30keV) immediately outside the magnetopause. These flows are found to originate sunward of the dawn meridian and to exhibit significant variabilities on the time scale of 400 msec. The variations are not related to changes in the magnetosheath magnetic fields and are likely produced up-stream by the leakage of magnetosphere protons or by a magnetopause particle energization process. The intensities of the dawn meridian ion flows are greater in the magnetosheath than in the magnetosphere. The flows appear to penetrate inside the dawn magnetosphere to a depth 0.1 R>_E, less than an ion gyroradius.