2024 Workshop: Multi-scale I-T Dynamics

High-resolution network observations by distributed sensors have revealed the existence of strong localized and transient structures between a few 10s and a few 100s km size and several minute durations. Those are referred to as meso-scale structures and have potentially substantial impacts on the ionosphere-thermosphere (I-T) system. The multi-scale (large, meso, small) nature is ubiquitous in the global ionosphere including the cusp, auroral oval, mid latitudes, and equatorial regions. For example, flows and precipitation imposed by the magnetosphere at high latitudes tend to be more intense at meso-scale than at large-scale, and neutral wind has been shown to have strong responses to such meso-scale energy input. Localized fast flows and density structures travel across regions as flow channels and waves, giving rise to coupling across latitude and longitudes and between regions. Meso-scale structures are also important sources of energy since they are often more intense than large-scale background fields. Small size (<~10 km) dynamics are also recognized as a critical component for conductance, and energy dissipation. Coupling over multiple scales is a critical challenge since observational and modeling methodologies for bridging different scales and between regions do not presently exist. This workshop consists of presentations and discussions on a wide range of coupling processes in the I-T system from global to local processes both through empirical and physics-based models in the growing M-I-T observational system, data assimilation, and machine learning to effectively connect the individual resources.