Modeling the Topside Ionosphere Effective Scale Height through In Situ Electron Density Observations by Low-Earth-Orbit Satellites

Pignalberi, Alessio; Pezzopane, Michael; Alberti, Tommaso; Coco, Igino; Consolini, Giuseppe; D’Angelo, Giulia; Michelis, Paola De; Giannattasio, Fabio; Nava, B.; Piersanti, Mirko; Tozzi, Roberta

doi:10.3390/universe9060280

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Also in this case, such evidence agrees with our results about B2mod. A similar approach has been applied also by Pignalberi et al [2023] which made use of in-situ N e values provided by the CSES-01 satellite [Pignalberi et al, 2022c] for the topside anchor point and, in addition, introduced the topside scale height altitudinal variation through COSMIC-1 radio occultation observations. Recently, Pignalberi et al [2022b] calculated NeQuick topside parameters (H 0 , g, and r) through topside profiles obtained from radio occultation by COSMIC-1, with the F2-layer anchor point provided by measurements.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ionospheric equivalent slab thickness ingestion into the NeQuick model

Pignalberi,

Nava,

Pietrella

et al. 2024

Annals of Geophysics

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The ionospheric equivalent slab thickness (τ), defined as the ratio of the vertical total electron content (vTEC) to the ionospheric F2-layer electron density maximum (NmF2), is a parameter providing useful information on the shape of the vertical electron density profile. However, the use of this information is of difficult practical application in empirical ionosphere models, such as the NeQuick model, because by design they do not explicitly include τ as a modelling parameter. In this work, we investigated the opportunity of using measured τ values to improve the empirical modelling of the ionosphere vertical electron density profile by NeQuick. Measured τ values were obtained through NmF2 observations and vTEC measurements obtained between 2001 and 2019 by an ionosonde and a ground-based GNSS receiver, respectively, co-located at Rome ionospheric station (41.8° N, 12.5° E; Italy). NeQuick τ was obtained as the ratio between modelled NmF2 and vTEC values, the latter obtained by integration of the vertical profile. As a first step, τ values modelled by NeQuick were compared with corresponding values measured at Rome station to highlight diurnal, seasonal, and solar activity differences. Then, measured τ values were ingested in NeQuick through a three-parameter assimilation procedure which first assimilate F2-layer peak characteristics to constrain the F2-layer anchor point, and then assimilate vTEC to optimize the F2-layer shape through the NeQuick F2-layer thickness parameter, namely B2bot. The assimilation procedure provides information on how the NeQuick B2bot has to be modified to match measured τ values, and then on how the shape of the F2-layer profile has to be changed accordingly. Our results highlight that, in many cases, the NeQuick B2bot has to be increased to match observations, which has implications on the modelling of the NeQuick bottomside and topside effective scale heights.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%