Using citizen science reports to define the equatorial extent of auroral visibility

Case, Nathan and MacDonald, Elizabeth A. and Viereck, Rodney (2016) Using citizen science reports to define the equatorial extent of auroral visibility. Space Weather, 14 (3). pp. 198-209. ISSN 1539-4956

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Abstract

An aurora may often be viewed hundreds of kilometers equatorward of the auroral oval owing to its altitude. As such, the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) Aurora Forecast product provides a “view line” to demonstrate the equatorial extent of auroral visibility, assuming that it is sufficiently bright and high in altitude. The view line in the SWPC product is based upon the latitude of the brightest aurora, for each hemisphere, as specified by the real-time oval variation, assessment, tracking, intensity, and online nowcasting (OVATION) Prime (2010) aurora precipitation model. In this study, we utilize nearly 500 citizen science auroral reports to compare with the view line provided by an updated SWPC aurora forecast product using auroral precipitation data from OVATION Prime (2013). The citizen science observations were recorded during March and April 2015 using the Aurorasaurus platform and cover one large geomagnetic storm and several smaller events. We find that this updated SWPC view line is conservative in its estimate and that the aurora is often viewable further equatorward than is indicated by the forecast. By using the citizen reports to modify the scaling parameters used to link the OVATION Prime (2013) model to the view line, we produce a new view line estimate that more accurately represents the equatorial extent of visible aurora. An OVATION Prime (2013) energy flux-based equatorial boundary view line is also developed and is found to provide the best overall agreement with the citizen science reports, with an accuracy of 91%.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Space Weather
Additional Information:
An edited version of this paper was published by AGU. Copyright 2016 American Geophysical Union
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1900/1902
Subjects:
?? atmospheric science ??
ID Code:
78236
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
15 Feb 2016 09:14
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
31 Dec 2023 00:38