Comparison of Numerical Simulations of the Electron Density in the D-Region Ionosphere with Measurements of the Radar of Partial Reflections

Abstract

The paper reports results of a comparison of the measured electron density in the ionospheric D-region measured using the partial reflection facility at the observatory. Tumanny of the Polar Geophysical Institute (69.0°N, 35.7°E) with numerical simulations performed using the theoretical model of the Polar Geophysical Institute (PGI) (Murmansk, Russian Federation). The model was examined using experimental data obtained under quiet geomagnetic conditions in March, 2017. The comparative analysis carried out in this study shows a very good agreement of the PGI model with experimental data and indicates that the IRI-2016 model fails to adequately reproduce measurements in regions with high electron density gradients.