MMS Observations of Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability and Associated Ion Scale Waves

The Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability (KHI), which occurs regularly at Earth’s magnetopause, is known to drive ion scale wave modes which can contribute to the effective heating and transport of magnetosheath plasma into the magnetosphere. We present here a statistical overview of MMS observations of the KHI between September 2015 and March 2020. A new region sorting technique is developed to aid in the characterization and comparison of Kelvin-Helmholtz observations. We also present the first statistical study of ion scale waves associated with the KHI in MMS data. Comparison with MMS crossings of the unperturbed magnetopause show increases in parallel ion scale wave activity in the sheath and perpendicular wave activity in the magnetosphere proper when the KHI is active, consistent with previous studies of Cluster observations. We consider potential generation mechanisms for the increased wave activity and its effects on plasma heating within the KHI.