Adaptive identification and characterization of polar ionization patches

Dynamics Explorer 2 (DE 2) spacecraft data are used to detect and characterize polar cap “ionization patches”, loosely defined as large‐scale (>100 km) regions where the F region plasma density is significantly enhanced (≳ 100%) above the background level. These patches are generally believed to develop in or equatorward of the dayside cusp region and then drift in an antisunward direction over the polar cap. We have developed a flexible algorithm for the identification and characterization of these structures, as a function of scale‐size and density enhancement, using data from the retarding potential analyzer, the ion drift meter, and the langmuir probe on board the DE 2 satellite. This algorithm was used to study the structure and evolution of ionization patches as they cross the polar cap. The results indicate that in the altitude region from 240 to 950 km ion density enhancements greater than a factor of 3 above the background level are relatively rare. Further, the ionization patches show a preferred horizontal scale size of 300–400 km. There exists a clear seasonal and universal time dependence to the occurrence frequency of patches with a northern hemisphere maximum centered on the winter solstice and the 1200–2000 UT interval.