LAUSR

For ∼2,000 Cassini magnetopause encounters, we analyse plasma and magnetic fields. The boundary can be unstable to the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI), which can drive large‐scale flows identifiable in plasma measurements. Bulk flow reversed from the expected direction near the magnetopause can indicate vorticity associated with active KH, and events are found dominantly in the dawn–subsolar region. KHIs are also responsible for magnetic field fluctuations, and hybrid simulations indicate heating, and transport is significant in an actively growing vortex. Cassini observations are filtered for disturbed magnetic fields near the magnetopause, similar to the signatures from hybrid simulations, with significant fluctuation and current sheet crossings. We also find that these occur most frequently in the dawn–subsolar region. A turbulent heating rate density and mass diffusion coefficient are calculated for these disturbed events and compared with the hybrid simulation to test whether enhanced values for these quantities can identify active KH events.