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We examine the statistical distribution of large‐scale Birkeland currents measured by the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment in four unique categories of geomagnetic activity for the first time: quiet times, storm times, quiet‐time substorms, and storm‐time substorms. A novel method is employed to sort data into one of these four categories, and the categorizations are provided for future research. The mean current density is largest during substorms and its standard deviation is largest during geomagnetic storms. Current densities which are above a low threshold are more likely during substorms, but extreme currents are far more likely during geomagnetic storms, consistent with a paradigm in which geomagnetic storms represent periods of enhanced variability over quiet times. We demonstrate that extreme currents are most likely to flow within the Region 2 current during geomagnetic storms. This is unexpected in a paradigm of the current systems in which Region 1 current is generally larger.

 

Abstract. The high-latitude atmosphere is a dynamic region with processes that respond to forcing from the Sun, magnetosphere, neutral atmosphere, andionosphere. Historically, the dominance of magnetosphere–ionosphere interactions has motivated upper atmospheric studies to use magneticcoordinates when examining magnetosphere–ionosphere–thermosphere coupling processes. However, there are significant differences between thedominant interactions within the polar cap, auroral oval, and equatorward of the auroral oval. Organising data relative to these boundaries hasbeen shown to improve climatological and statistical studies, but the process of doing so is complicated by the shifting nature of the auroral ovaland the difficulty in measuring its poleward and equatorward boundaries. This study presents a new set of open–closed magnetic field line boundaries (OCBs) obtained from Active Magnetosphere and Planetary ElectrodynamicsResponse Experiment (AMPERE) magnetic perturbation data. AMPERE observations of field-aligned currents (FACs) are used to determine the location ofthe boundary between the Region 1 (R1) and Region 2 (R2) FAC systems. This current boundary is thought to typically lie a few degrees equatorwardof the OCB, making it a good candidate for obtaining OCB locations. The AMPERE R1–R2 boundaries are compared to the Defense MeteorologicalSatellite Program Special Sensor J (DMSP SSJ) electron energy flux boundaries to test this hypothesis and determine the best estimate of thesystematic offset between the R1–R2 boundary and the OCB as a function of magnetic local time. These calibrated boundaries, as well as OCBsobtained from the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) observations, are validated using simultaneous observations of theconvection reversal boundary measured by DMSP. The validation shows that the OCBs from IMAGE and AMPERE may be used together in statisticalstudies, providing the basis of a long-term data set that can be used to separate observations originating inside and outside of the polar cap.