Simulating High-Latitude E-Region Irregularities using a 3D Fluid Framework with Kinetic Corrections

Type-I irregularity in the high-latitude E-region, driven by Farley-Buneman and thermal instabilities, causes anomalous electron heating that fundamentally alters local conductivities. The inherently turbulent nature of these irregularities necessitates numerical simulation; however, Particle-in-Cell methods are computationally expensive for large domains and ensemble runs, while classical fluid models omit crucial kinetic effects. To bridge this gap, we present a highly efficient 3D fluid framework, developed in Dedalus, that uses kinetic closures to capture essential microphysics. Our simulation framework integrates kinetic linear instability theory corrections, emulates small-scale ion Landau damping by a fluid viscosity term, and utilizes fully anisotropic electron heat conduction to resolve the turbulent energy cascade. Furthermore, the model captures non-Maxwellian electron heating from turbulent electric field via a dynamic thermodynamic parameterization and achieves saturation through nonlinear mode-coupling and self-consistent anomalous wave drag. This framework offers a computationally viable tool for investigating anomalous heating and cross-scale energy transfer in the auroral ionosphere.