The data from 6 selected GPS satellites as recorded from Ny-Ålesund (in red) and Longyearbyen (in blue). (a-d) The GPS TEC, ROT, phase (σ _ϕ ) and amplitude scintillation (S ₄ ) indices. The shaded regions in (A) and (B) correspond to the time period when the GPS IPPs were in the cusp auroral region but no polar cap patches were observed. The red arrows indicate the plasma structures of polar cap patches in the cusp auroral region, and the letter “CP” stands for “cusp patch” which means plasma patch in the cusp. The black arrows present the polar cap patches in the dayside polar cap (without particle precipitation), and the letter “P” stands for “patch”. See text for more detail.