Scales of Ionospheric Plasma Structuring in the High-Latitude Ionosphere and the Associated Effects for GNSS Scintillation

Throughout the high-latitude ionosphere, large-scale plasma structures, such as polar cap patches and blobs, are ubiquitous. These structures can seed smaller-scale irregularities due to instability mechanisms, which can cause scintillation of trans-ionospheric radio signals, such as those used for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The complex nature of these structures along with other processes such as auroral precipitation, means that plasma can be structured on a variety of spatial scale sizes from hundreds of kilometres down to tens of meters. As it is not currently possible for this range of scales to be observed by any singular instrument, the Scales of Ionospheric Plasma Structuring (SIPS) experiment was conducted in winter 2024 using a suite of instrumentation. The European Incoherent SCATter (EISCAT) radars observed structures measuring several hundreds of kilometres in size, while the Kilpisjärvi Atmospheric Imaging Receiver Array (KAIRA) was able to capture spatial sizes of ~100 m up to ~5 km. The Swarm satellites and GNSS receivers were then able to identify the presence of structures down to, and below ~500 m in size. Additionally, coherent scatter radars (SuperDARN), magnetometers, and other instruments are used to give contextual understanding, for example, providing velocity information and insight into the geophysical conditions. The combination of this range of ground- and space-based instrumentation, in conjunction with modelling techniques gives unprecedented coverage of the varying scale sizes, which is not possible with individual instrumentation alone. This presentation discusses the latest results from the SIPS experiments and showcases the relationship between structures of varying scale sizes in the high-latitude ionosphere.