Coupled model boosts reproduction of inner magnetosphere ring current

The inner magnetosphere ring current, which circles the Earth a few Earth radii above the surface, consists of energetic ions and electrons and plays an important role in the space environment. During geomagnetic storms the flow in the ring current rises dramatically. The behavior of the ring current and other features of the inner magnetosphere depend strongly on conditions in other regions of the magnetosphere. The small scale of the particle dynamics that drive the ring current, compared to the vast spatial scale of the entire magnetosphere, makes it difficult to represent both the nuance of the inner magnetosphere and the full scope of the magnetospheric system.