A strong ≈10 kHz mode is detected in both potential and density fluctuations of the edge plasma of the MAST tokamak using a reciprocating probe. The mode is radially localized, with outer limit ≈2 cm inside the separatrix, and is affected on application of resonant magnetic perturbations generated by external coils. A shift in frequency with plasma rotation is found, and a rapid suppression of the mode is observed when it can couple to the imposed n = 3 magnetic perturbations in the rotating frame. Non-linear coupling to high wave number turbulence is evident, and an increase in power of turbulence fluctuations is seen after suppression. These observations are then interpreted in the context of known low-frequency plasma modes present in the toroidal configuration. A possibility that the observed mode is a geodesic acoustic mode is considered and motivated by observations.

The effects of spatially varying magnetic field strength on the scaling properties of plasma turbulence, modelled by an extended form of Hasegawa-Wakatani model, are investigated. We study changes in the intermittency of the velocity, density, and vorticity fields, as functions of the magnetic field inhomogeneity C=−∂ ln B/∂x. While the velocity fluctuations are always self-similar and their scaling is unaffected by the value of C, the intermittency levels in density and vorticity change with parameter C, reflecting morphological changes in the coherent structures due to the interchange mechanism. Given the centrality of vorticity in conditioning plasma transport, this result is of interest in scaling the results of transport measurements and simulations in tokamak edge plasmas, where drift-interchange turbulence in the presence of a magnetic field gradient is likely to occur.

New diagnostic, modelling and plant capability on the Mega Ampère Spherical Tokamak (MAST) have delivered important results in key areas for ITER/DEMO and the upcoming MAST Upgrade, a step towards future ST devices on the path to fusion currently under procurement. Micro-stability analysis of the pedestal highlights the potential roles of micro-tearing modes and kinetic ballooning modes for the pedestal formation. Mitigation of edge localized modes (ELM) using resonant magnetic perturbation has been demonstrated for toroidal mode numbers n = 3, 4, 6 with an ELM frequency increase by up to a factor of 9, compatible with pellet fuelling. The peak heat flux of mitigated and natural ELMs follows the same linear trend with ELM energy loss and the first ELM-resolved Ti measurements in the divertor region are shown. Measurements of flow shear and turbulence dynamics during L–H transitions show filaments erupting from the plasma edge whilst the full flow shear is still present. Off-axis neutral beam injection helps to strongly reduce the redistribution of fast-ions due to fishbone modes when compared to on-axis injection. Low-k ion-scale turbulence has been measured in L-mode and compared to global gyro-kinetic simulations. A statistical analysis of principal turbulence time scales shows them to be of comparable magnitude and reasonably correlated with turbulence decorrelation time. Te inside the island of a neoclassical tearing mode allow the analysis of the island evolution without assuming specific models for the heat flux. Other results include the discrepancy of the current profile evolution during the current ramp-up with solutions of the poloidal field diffusion equation, studies of the anomalous Doppler resonance compressional Alfvén eigenmodes, disruption mitigation studies and modelling of the new divertor design for MAST Upgrade. The novel 3D electron Bernstein synthetic imaging shows promising first data sensitive to the edge current profile and flows.