Publication Date:
2024-06-13
Description:
The topside ionosphere extends from the F2-layer peak, where the electron density reaches its absolute maximum in the ionosphere, to the overlying plasmasphere and magnetosphere. In the topside ionosphere, the electron density decreases with height with a vertical variation rate strongly dependent on height itself. The last version of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model, i.e., IRI-2020, describes this complex behavior through four topside options based on different sub-models (i.e., options) developed from the 1970s to
the present. All these options have in common the F2-layer peak as an anchor point, while they differ in their topside electron density profile and/or plasma effective scale height formulations. In this work, we perform a validation of the accuracy of the four IRI-2020 topside options based on the comparison against in-situ electron density observations by Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON), and Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F15 low-Earth-orbit satellites.
Datasets used in this study encompass observations recorded from 1999 to 2022, covering different diurnal, seasonal, and solar activity conditions, on a global basis and for the height range 400–850 km above the ground. The nearly two solar cycles dataset facilitated the evaluation of IRI-2020 topside options ability to reproduce the spatial and time variations of the topside ionosphere for different solar activity conditions. The weaknesses and strengths of each IRI-2020 topside option are highlighted and discussed, and suggestions on
how to improve the modeling of the challenging topside ionosphere region within the IRI model are provided for future reference.
Description:
In press
Description:
OSA3: Climatologia e meteorologia spaziale
Description:
JCR Journal
Keywords:
Topside ionosphere modeling
;
International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model
;
In-situ electron density observations
;
Low-Earth-Orbit satellites
;
01.02. Ionosphere
Repository Name:
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
Type:
article
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