Annual Occurrence Rates of Ionospheric Polar Cap Patches Observed Using Swarm

Dense, fast-moving regions of ionization called polar cap patches are known to occur in the high-latitude F region ionosphere. Patches are widely believed to be caused by convection of dense, sunlit plasma into a dark and therefore low-density polar cap ionosphere. This leads to the belief that patches are a winter phenomenon. Surprisingly, a long-term analysis of 3years of ionospheric measurements from the Swarm satellites shows that large density enhancements occur far more frequently in local summer than local winter in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). The reverse is true in the Northern Hemisphere (NH). Previously reported patch detections in the SH are reexamined. Detection algorithms using only a relative doubling test count very small density fluctuations in SH winter due to extremely low ambient densities found there, while much larger enhancements occurring in SH summer are missed due to especially high ambient densities. The same problem does not afflict results in the NH, where ambient densities are more stable year-round due to the ionospheric annual asymmetry. Given this new analysis, the definition of a patch as a doubling of the ambient density is not suitable for the SH. We propose a test for patches linked to long-term averaged solar flux activity, characterized by the 81day centered mean F-10.7 index. Importantly, the current patch formation theory is at least incomplete in that it does not predict the observed lack of patches in SH winter, or the many large enhancements seen in SH summer. Plain Language Summary Dense, fast-moving regions of ionization called patches are known to occur in the high-latitude F region ionosphere. Theory and most previous observations indicate that patches are a winter phenomenon (around December in the Northern Hemisphere, around June in the Southern Hemisphere). However, a recent study using a novel patch detection approach showed more patches around December in both hemispheres. We reexamine that approach alongside a well-established approach that produces a winter maximum in each hemisphere. Our new observations and analysis show that the December maximum in both hemispheres is correct. Therefore, the theory of patch formation is incomplete. An explanation is needed for the lack of patches around June solstice in both hemispheres, and for the large number of patches found in Southern Hemisphere summer.