A new set of standardized boundaries for the application of adaptive, high-latitude coordinates

The high latitude atmosphere is a dynamic region with processes that respond to forcing from the Sun, magnetosphere, neutral atmosphere, and ionosphere. There are significant differences between the dominant interactions within the polar cap, auroral oval, and equatorward of the auroral oval. Locating data within these boundaries has been shown to improve climatological and statistical studies, as well as improve the interpretation of smaller scale case studies. However, the process of doing so is complicated by the shifting nature of the auroral oval and the difficulty in measuring its poleward and equatorward boundaries. We present several advances that will aid researchers seeking to use adaptive, high latitude coordinates in their studies to improve our understanding of the spatiotemporal behavior of this system in different regions. These include expanding the existing database of Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) far ultraviolet (FUV) open-closed field-line boundaries (OCBs) to include equatorward auroral oval boundaries, creating a new set of OCBs from the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment (AMPERE) field-aligned current boundaries, and a software tool to convert between adaptive, high-latitude coordinates (with either only an OCB or both an OCB and equatorward auroral boundary) and geographic or magnetic coordinates. Finally, we outline the types of data sets we would like to have on future missions to improve future studies in the high-latitude ionosphere.