Auto-Sensing the Auroral Oval with SuperDARN

The location of the auroral oval is one of the most basic indicators of the state of the magnetosphere-ionosphere system. It is of interest in its own right and can be used to estimate the magnetic flux within the polar cap and magnetotail stretching. An algorithm has been developed for auto-sensing the convection reversal boundary and the equatorward extent of flow/scatter using the SuperDARN network of radars. This algorithm has been inter-calibrated with boundaries determined from DMSP particle data. These results are available in real-time and on a historical basis combined with boundaries determined using DMSP particle observations, images from the Polar spacecraft, and Meridian scanning photometry. This historical/real-time view of the state of the auroral oval is called OVATION and is available on the web at http://sd-www.jhuapl.edu/Aurora.