ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a basic overview of magnetotail inner magnetosphere coupling that is in turn accomplished via plasma transport. It focuses on some basic concepts that are fundamental to this transport and its impact in terms of space weather. The magnetic field within the magnetotail closes from the southern to Northern Hemisphere, so this cross-tail current must, predominantly, flow from dawn to dusk. From the perspective of coupling between the magnetotail and the inner magnetosphere, the nightside transition region (NTR) is an important region. Physical processes within and adjacent to the NTR determines the destiny of virtually all magnetospheric plasma. A key issue related to the transition between the magnetotail and inner magnetosphere is how the field line curvature in the neutral sheet compares to the gyroradii of electrons and protons with various energies that are typical for the plasma sheet. The plasma density in the inner magnetosphere is controlled by a convolution of the density in the plasma sheet.
