Ionosphere‐thermosphere models at the Community Coordinated Modeling Center

Abstract

[1] One of the ways to address the science needs of the research community and to enable science progress is to provide community access to modern space science models. The Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) is a multiagency partnership based at the Goddard Space Flight Center that hosts a set of state-of-the-art space science models ranging from the solar atmosphere to the Earth's upper atmosphere. The CCMC provides a Web-based, no-cost, Runs on Request system, by which the interested scientist can readily request simulations for time intervals of interest. CCMC also provides a tailored Web-based visualization interface for the model output, including near-real-time results from select models. Model outputs have been specifically tailored for easy comparison with observational data to facilitate data analysis and model validation. This paper provides an overview of CCMC activities, with an emphasis on the ionospherethermosphere models residing there.

Validation of Ionospheric Specifications During Geomagnetic Storms: TEC and foF2 During the 2013 March Storm Event

“…The simulations used in this study were obtained from the latest version of the models available at the CCMC (Webb et al, ), with the exception of UAM simulation submitted by the model developer. The models used are IRI (International Reference Ionosphere) storm model, empirical; SAMI3 (Sami3 is also a model of the ionosphere), IFM (ionosphere forecast model), physics‐based ionosphere; CTIPe (Coupled Thermosphere Ionosphere Plasmasphere Electrodynamics) model GITM (Global Ionosphere Thermosphere Model), TIE‐GCM (Thermosphere Ionosphere Electrodynamics General Circulation Model), UAM‐P (Upper Atmosphere Model ‐ Potsdam version), physics‐based coupled IT; and USU‐GAIM (Utah State University Global Assimilation of Ionospheric Measurement), physics‐based ionosphere data assimilation model.…”

CEDAR‐GEM Challenge for Systematic Assessment of Ionosphere/Thermosphere Models in Predicting TEC During the 2006 December Storm Event

“…The simulations were produced from eight models: IRI, empirical; SAMI3, USU‐IFM, and physics‐based ionosphere; CTIPe, GITM, TIE‐GCM, Upper Atmosphere Model (UAM), and physics‐based coupled ionosphere‐thermosphere; and USU‐GAIM, a physics‐based ionosphere data assimilation model. The model outputs were either submitted by model developers through the CCMC online submission interface, which was developed for this and other model validation studies, or generated by the CCMC using ionosphere‐thermosphere (IT) models hosted at the CCMC (Webb et al, ). The submissions of the model outputs are listed in Table .…”

CEDAR Electrodynamics Thermosphere Ionosphere (ETI) Challenge for systematic assessment of ionosphere/thermosphere models: Electron density, neutral density, NmF2, and hmF2 using space based observations

“…Nine submissions from eight models (IRI, SAMI3, USU‐IFM, CTIPe, GITM, TIE‐GCM, JPL‐GAIM and USU‐GAIM) were compared with NmF2, hmF2 and electron density measurements. The model outputs used for the study were either provided by modelers (via the submission interface at the CCMC website developed for a number of model validation studies) or simulated by the IT models hosted at the CCMC [ Webb et al , 2009]. A unique model identifier was used to distinguish multiple submissions from the same model that were driven by different boundary conditions and/or inputs (e.g., 1_JB2008 and 2_JB2008) (see Table 2).…”