Specification of the ionospheric electric fields at high latitudes is of critical importance for both the research and operational components of the National Space Weather Program. This study of high-latitude electric fields will address that topic by utilizing information on the distribution of auroral luminosity in the mapping of convection patterns. This will be the first time that convection patterns have been extensively calibrated against auroral patterns. The study will result in a new type of statistical convection model and significant improvements in the mapping of instantaneous convection patterns. The new convection model and the arc-referencing technique will be added to the SuperDARN global mapping analysis. The ramifications of using the improved convection mapping to study space weather effects will be explored. All of the databases, models, and results arising from the work will be made available to the community via user-friendly interfaces at the JHU/APL SuperDARN Web site.
