CEDAR email: AGU26 Session SA019: Polar Cap Patch Structuring

[Leslie Lamarche]

We welcome and encourage abstract submissions to session SA019 - "Polar Cap Plasma Structuring: What is a Patch?”<https://agu.confex.com/agu/agu26/prelim.cgi/Session/283115> at the AGU Annual Meeting.

Polar cap patches are traditionally defined as enhancements in plasma density at least twice the background plasma density. However, debate persists on whether this definition is accurate, helpful, or if "patches" encompass multiple phenomena, given that soft precipitation, Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (TIDs), and Tongues of Ionization (TOIs) can also produce localized plasma density enhancements. These are all important phenomena for understanding plasma transport, ion-neutral coupling, and currents in the polar region. The high-density plasma is a source of ion upflow/outflow, and manifests as a tracer of multi-scale flow structures. Patches also have operation impacts such as radio communication and navigation, since dense plasma and associated irregularities alter HF wave propagation and cause scintillation. We invite presentations that can help shed more light on the formation, evolution, classification, and impact of mesoscale features in the polar cap and how they are influenced by and interact with the broader M-I-T environment.

This session is part of the CEDAR Grand Challenge “Redefining Polar Cap Patches: Understanding High-Latitude Irregularities and their Implications for the Coupled MIT System”<https://cedarscience.org/workshop/2025-workshop-what-are-polar-cap-patches>.


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Dr. Leslie J. Lamarche
Center For Geospace Science
     SRI International, Menlo Park CA
     Research Engineer
T +1 (650) 859-2733
E leslie.lamarche at sri.com<mailto:leslie.lamarche at sri.com>
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