ALBERT

Description: Objective quantification of model performance based on metrics helps us evaluate the current state of space physics modeling capability, address differences among various modeling approaches, and track model improvements over time. The Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) Electrodynamics Thermosphere Ionosphere (ETI) Challenge was initiated in 2009 to assess accuracy of various ionosphere/thermosphere models in reproducing ionosphere and thermosphere parameters. A total of nine events and five physical parameters were selected to compare between model outputs and observations. The nine events included two strong and one moderate geomagnetic storm events from GEM Challenge events and three moderate storms and three quiet periods from the first half of the International Polar Year (IPY) campaign, which lasted for 2 years, from March 2007 to March 2009. The five physical parameters selected were NmF2 and hmF2 from ISRs and LEO satellites such as CHAMP and COSMIC, vertical drifts at Jicamarca, and electron and neutral densities along the track of the CHAMP satellite. For this study, four different metrics and up to 10 models were used. In this paper, we focus on preliminary results of the study using ground-based measurements, which include NmF2 and hmF2 from Incoherent Scatter Radars (ISRs), and vertical drifts at Jicamarca. The results show that the model performance strongly depends on the type of metrics used, and thus no model is ranked top for all used metrics. The analysis further indicates that performance of the model also varies with latitude and geomagnetic activity level.

Description: The Sun-Earth Connection Active Archive (SECAA) project of NASA's Space Physics Data Facility operates a range of unique and heavily used multi-mission data services in support of the large-scale science objectives of the Great Observatory, including services such as CDAWeb, the CDAWeb Plus client, SSCWeb, OMNIweb and the CDF data format. In developing and operating these services, we have encountered and continue to struggle with a wide range of issues such as balancing scope and functionality with simplicity and ease of use, understanding the effectiveness of our choices and identifying areas most important for further improvement. In this paper, we will review our key services and then discuss some of our observations and new approaches to understanding and meeting user data service requirements. Some observations are obvious but may still have substantial implications; e.g. functionality without information content is of little user interest, which has led to our recent emphasis on development of web services interfaces, so the content and functionality we already serve is readily and fully available as a building block for new services. Some observations require careful design and tradeoffs; e.g. users will complain when they are offered interfaces with limited options but users are also easily intimidated and become lost when offered extensive options for customization. Some observations remain highly challenging; e.g. a comprehensive multi-mission, multi-source view of all data and services available easily produces a daunting list, but a more selective view can easily lead users to overlook available and relevant data. It is often difficult to obtain and meaningfully interpret measures of true productive usage and overall user satisfaction, even with a variety of techniques including statistics, citations, case studies, user feedback and advisory committees. Most of these issues will apply to and may even be more acute for distributed implementation architectures.