Geospace activity dependence of cold, streaming ions in the near-Earth magnetotail

Results from a survey of the occurrence statistics of cold, streaming ion observations in the magnetotail lobes (lobal wind) in the Polar TIDE database are presented, considering lobal wind observation occurrence percentages during quiet and active times in geospace. It is found that lobal winds are observed more than half the time, even during magnetic storm conditions, and in quiet times they are seen nearly three-quarters of the time. They are seen throughout the magnetotail portion of the Polar orbit (apogee ∼9 RE near the magnetic equator in the tail during the survey epoch), and are regularly measured at all local times and at all latitudes within the surveyed domain. The beams flow along the magnetic field away from the ionosphere, and are often seen as bi-directional streams at lower magnetic latitudes, indicating that they are present on closed field lines as well as open ones. The commonness of these cold, streaming ions emphasizes the need for global magnetospheric modelers to account for this population.