Ionosphere

The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth. Closest to the surface of Earth, the ionosphere is about  away. It goes on up to  above sea level.

The outer limits of the ionosphere

Much research has been done on Plasma fountain (or Polar wind). Satellites have been used (since the 1960's), when doing research. Some of them are ISIS-2, Dynamics Explorer, the Akebono  satellite, and the  Polar satellite. That research has covered different places above the surface of Earth. Those places are at different altitudes and latitudes. Research has also been done at different times of [one or more] solar cycles.

In 2007, a research paper said that Plasma fountain (or Polar wind) is "an ambipolar outflow of thermal plasma from [the ionosphere near the North pole and South pole, or] high-latitude ionosphere"; That plasma moves from the ionosphere to the magnetosphere.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364682607002416. Retrieved 2024-10-11 

Decades of research have led to a body of scientific work; A thing that it says, is that there is at least one electric field on the outer limits (of the ionosphere).

The electric field gets called different things, such as 
polarization field (and polarization electric field)
ambipolar field (and ambipolar electric field)

Causes of the plasma fountain (or polar wind)
About 30 years of research [as of the 2020s], says that the cause of the plasma fountain (or polar wind) is ambipolar outflow of thermal plasma: ion acceleration by a polarization electric field at high altitudes. 
The polarization electric field or ambipolar electric field was originally proposed in the 1920s for ionized stellar atmospheres. 

The field is very small but, unlike other forces, it points away from gravity. In low-density plasma at high altitude (above Earth), it overwhelms gravity for light ions.

Related pages
Kennelly-Heaviside layer

Sources


Category:Atmosphere
Category:Atmosphere of Earth