Observations of Io, its neutral clouds and plasma torus reveal processes driving the predominant source to Jupiter’s giant magnetosphere.

Jupiter’s giant magnetosphere is powered by the combination of a prodigious source of material from Io interacting with the strong planetary magnetic field. To understand the processes that drive this powerful system one needs to take observations of multiple components: Io’s volcanic activity, the spatial and temporal variability of the atmosphere, the structure of the escaping neutral clouds, the ionized products that form the plasma torus and the subsequent radial transport and heating of what becomes Jupiter’s extensive plasma disk. A key factor in this complex system is the coupling of the equatorial plasma to the high latitude ionosphere of Jupiter. To quantify these multiple, coupled processes one needs to observe the system over time with both in situ measurements and with remote sensing. In this talk I will review the different observations made by spacecraft at Jupiter as well as from Earth and outline future observations that would complement measurements by Juno, JUICE and Europa Clipper missions.