Characterizing the Relationship between the Vertical Profile of the Polar Cap Ionosphere and the Solar Wind

Lifted patches of plasma appear throughout the ionosphere, and to this point, they have been a relatively unexplained phenomenon. The Resolute Bay Incoherent Scatter Radar (RISR) has provided a plethora of radar data that could be used to better understand when and why these lifted patches arise. The current hypothesis is that the solar wind strongly correlates with the appearance of these lifted patches within the Ionosphere. Utilizing the RISR data alongside NASA’s OMNI solar wind data suite, I compared the appearance of lifted patches within the Ionosphere with heightened solar wind conditions. I also used the Levenberg-Marquardt Least Squares Approximation Algorithm and developed a lifted patch detection algorithm that yields a time series of peak electron density altitudes within the Ionosphere. These altitudes could be modeled most accurately using the Chapman, Epstein, and Semi-Epstein layer models for ionospheric electron density. These peak altitude time series can then be correlated with the solar wind to predict the appearance of lifted patches within the Ionosphere. The relationship between the solar wind and the appearance of lifted patches of plasma within the Ionosphere is very complex, but this study shows that their appearances can be correlated.