Photo/illustration: Eva Therese Jenssen
On Friday 22nd of January, Katie Herlingshaw will defend her doctoral dissertation entitled “Characterising Mesoscale Fast Flow Channels in the Polar Cap Ionosphere”. The event will take place in the afternoon between 13:00 and 15:00 at UNIS Svalbard, and may be followed online using this Zoom-link.
About her thesis
Katie has studied high velocity flow channels in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. In her thesis, a global network of radars is used together with optical measurements to investigate the properties of fast flow channels in Earth’s polar cap region.
The findings show that fast flow channels are typically 200-300 km in width, with peak velocities of 1.1-1.3 km/s , and durations of 2-3 minutes. The flow channels were observed most frequently when the Sun’s magnetic field was weak, fluctuating, and orientated in the dawn-dusk direction.
This research is a step towards a more comprehensive understanding of the role of mesoscale high velocity flow channels in the polar cap and their importance in the interconnected Sun-Earth system.
See Katie in action doing fieldwork for her PhD:
