This sixth volume in the ISSI Space Sciences series is the outcome of a process of carrying out the ISSI study project on source and loss processes of magnetospheric plasma. The goal has been to give an authoritative overview of all aspects of the topic in a well-organized form, for active researchers in the field and for young scientists who are starting their research in space physics. In order to represent the full diversity of experience and perspective that exists in the science community, some 50 leading scientists from all over the world were invited to participate in the project and contribute to the text.

The present sixth volume of ISSI Space Sciences Series is the outcome of the most ambitious study project of ISSI hitherto, that on 'Source and Loss Processes of Magnetospheric Plasma'. The goal has been to produce a fully integrated book on the subject, which gives an authoritative overview of all aspects of the topic in a well organized form, useful and readable both for active researchers in the field and for young scientists who are starting their research in space physics. In order to represent the full diversity of experience and perspective that exists in the science community, some 50 leading scientists from allover the world were invited to participate in the project and contribute to the text. With the scientific competence well in hand, the dominating problem in producing the book has been to achieve a degree of consistency in style, nomenclature, notations and format, as well as good cross referencing. To what degree we have succeeded in reaching our goal of delivering a volume that will be useful to the community in both its comprehensiveness and readability remains to be decided by the readers. The book is the outcome of a three year long process. In December 1995 the study project on 'Source and Loss Processes of Magnetospheric Plasma' was se lected by ISSI after consultations with several groups of senior representatives of the space physics community."

The present volume is the second one in the Space Sciences Series of ISSI (Inter national Space Science Institute) and the October 1997 issue of Space Science Reviews. It contains the proceedings of the first workshop in the ISSI study project on "Source and Loss Processes of Magnetospheric Plasma", which was held at ISSI in Bern on October 1-5, 1996. The participants in the project, the project team, numbered at that time 51, of whom 45 participated in the workshop. The main tasks of the first workshop were to provide a basis for the further work by means of presentation and discussion of those 16 review papers which are pub lished in this volume and to prepare plans for the work of six working groups in the year up to the second workshop in October 1997. The ISSI study project on "Source and Loss Processes of Magnetospheric Plas ma" was selected by ISSI in December 1995 as the first in the solar-terrestrial physics field after consulting a number of groups of senior scientists represent ing the international space physics community at large. The undersigned, Bengt Hultqvist, is the project leader. A Core Group, consisting of two co-chairs for each of six working groups and four ex-officio members from the Space Science Com mittee of ISSI (H. Balsiger, A. Galeev, G. Haerendel, and D. Southwood), con vened at ISSI in March 1996.