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The Lifetimes of Plasma Structures at High Latitudes
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  • Magnus Fagernes Ivarsen,
  • Yaqi Jin,
  • Andres Spicher,
  • Wojciech Jacek Miloch,
  • Lasse Boy Novock Clausen
Magnus Fagernes Ivarsen
University of Oslo, University of Oslo

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Yaqi Jin
University of Oslo, University of Oslo
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Andres Spicher
University of Oslo, University of Oslo
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Wojciech Jacek Miloch
University of Oslo, University of Oslo
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Lasse Boy Novock Clausen
University of Oslo, University of Oslo
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Abstract

We present an investigation of polar cap plasma structure lifetimes. We analyze both simulated data from ionospheric models (International Reference Ionosphere model and Mass Spectrometer Incoherent Scatter model) and in-situ data from the Swarm satellite mission (the 16 Hz Advanced Plasma Density data set). We find that the theoretical prediction that E-region conductance is a predictor of F-region polar cap plasma structure lifetimes is indeed supported by both in-situ-based observations and by ionospheric models. In-situ plasma structure lifetimes correlate well with the ratio of F- to E-region conductance. We present explicit predictions of small scale (~1 km) structure lifetimes, which range from less than 1 hour during local summer to around 3 hours during local winter. We highlight a large discrepancy between the observational and theoretical scale-dependency of decay due to diffusion.
Feb 2021Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics volume 126 issue 2. 10.1029/2020JA028117