Calculating Auroral Oval Pattern by AE Index

The relationship between the auroral oval pattern, i.e., location, size, shape, and intensity, and the auroral electrojet activity index (AE index) is studied. It is found that the maximal auroral intensity is elliptically distributed, and the lengths of semimajor and semiminor axes are positively correlated to AE. The intensity along the normal of the auroral oval can be satisfyingly described by a Gaussian distribution, and the maximum and the full width at half maximum of the Gaussian distribution are both positively correlated to AE. Based on these statistical results, a series of experimental formulas as a function of AE are developed to calculate the location, size, shape, and intensity of the auroral oval. These formulas are validated by the auroral images released by SWPC/NOAA. Key words: auroral oval, AE index (auroral electrojet activity index), linear correlation. 1