First results from a comparison of ground-based ionosphric measurements in the southern hemisphere and the USU global ionospheric model

摘要

The F-layer parameters N_mF_2 and h_mF_2 have been derived from measurements made at two Antarctic stations for quiet days during the austral summer and winter of 1982. Siple (76°S, 84°W) and Halley (76°S, 27°W) are both sited near L≈4.2 and use essentially identical digital HF sounding radars. Even under quiet conditions, systematic differences in N_mF_2 and h_mF_2 can be observed at the two sites. Insight into the source of these differences can be obtained from a comparison of the ionospheric data with theoretical data derived from the USU global ionospheric model. Under austral winter conditions, a relatively good model-observational comparison is obtained. However, for austral summer conditions this agreement is poorer, apparently due to the simplicity of the neutral wind incorporated into the ionospheric model.