The ionosphere is the ionized layer of the upper atmosphere, where the visible auroral light and the auroral currents flow. Ground-based space physics observations cover measurements of the magnetic disturbances on ground (e.g., using the SuperMAG chain), observing the auroras by ground-based all-sky imagers (e.g., those in Canada or Scandinavia), and remote sensing the electric fields and flows in the ionosphere (e.g. by the SuperDARN radar network).
This complement of observations gives a full picture of the ionospheric electrodynamics, which is a key component of the coupled solar wind – magnetosphere – ionosphere system that determines the dynamics of space weather. Moreover, the ionospheric observations can be used to infer dynamics in their source region in the high-altitude magnetosphere. The ground instrument networks can provide a spatial dimension to the processes, which in outer space are often observed only at a single location.
