Role of Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability In Ionospheric Phenomena

Abstract

The role of Kelvin-Helmholtz (K-H) instability in ionospheric phenomena under the electrostatic approximation has been studied. The roles of binary collisions and the conductivity have been accounted for. An expression for the growth rate of K-H instability appropriate to the auroral ionosphere has been derived. The potentiality of K-H instability in explaining various observed auroral forms has been discussed. Some peculiar traces of barium ion clouds in the non-polar ionosphere are also suggestive of the possible role of K•H instability. The observed variations of various plasma and field parameters have been used to depict the probable role of K-H instability in the polar and non-polar ionosphere.