NeQuick2 and IRI2012 models applied to mid and high latitudes, and the Antarctic ionosphere

Abstract

Within the framework of the AUSPICIO (AUtomatic Scaling of Polar Ionograms and Co-operative Ionospheric Observations) project, a limited sample of ionograms recorded mostly in 2001 and 2009, and to a lesser extent in 2006–07 and 2012–15, at the ionospheric observatories of Hobart and MacquarieIsland (mid-latitude), Comandante FerrazandLivingstoneIsland(high latitude),andCasey, Mawson, Davis and Scott Base (inside the Antarctic Polar Circle (APC)) were considered to study the capability of the NeQuick2 and IRI2012 models for predicting the behaviour of the ionosphere at mid- and high latitudes and over the Antarctic area. The applicability of NeQuick2 and IRI2012 was evaluated as i) climatological models taking as input the F 10.7 solar activity index and ii) assimilative models ingesting the foF2 and hmF2 measurements obtained from the electron density profiles provided bytheAdaptiveIonosphericProfiler(AIP). Thestatisticalanalysisresults reveal thatthe bestdescription of the ionosphere’s electron density is achieved when the AIP measurements are ingested into the NeQuick2 and IRI2012 models. Moreover, NeQuick2 performance is far better than IRI2012 performance outside the APC. Conversely, the IRI2012 model performs better than the NeQuick2 model inside the APC.