[en] Presented is a technique where on a routine basis a single satellite borne instrument can be used to determine quasi-instantaneous ion convection patterns over the entire high-latitude ionosphere. The remote sensing technique utilizes the Doppler shift information in the optical emissions originating from thermospheric ions drifting in response to the Earth's magnetic and convection electric fields. The feasibility of the technique is demonstrated using a computer simulation. The simulation shows that a satellite can obtain information with sufficient spatial resolution to obtain quasi-instantaneous estimates of ion convection patterns. The results are accurate enough to distinguish between features present in currently accepted averaged models of ion convection. 20 refs., 3 figs