The effects of f0 F2 variability on TEC prediction accuracy

Abstract

In this paper hourly daily F2-layer critical frequency data recorded at Rome and one minute daily TEC data recorded at Florence were used and the relevant variabiles were calculated. It was concluded that there was no clear evidence as to how they correlated. In order to obtain a measure of the f 0 F 2 and TEC variability, the normalised differences df0 F2 and d TEC from the relevant monthly median values were also considered. Since no clear evidence could be obtained as of how df0 F2 and d TEC correlate, a new parameter, the ?Ap /?R ratio was tried. ?Ap was taken as the difference between the maximum value of Ap measured at the relevant disturbance and that corresponding at the beginning of the disturbance. ?R corresponded to the two above mentioned values of Ap. This parameter was compared to the differences of the corresponding df0 F2 values called ?df and d TEC values called ?dT. In wintertime, when ?A p /? R was negative, for the vast majority of the occurrences either ?df or ?dT was negative; ?df and ?dT were never observed to be negative at the same time whereas they were both positive in fewer than 10% of the observations. When ?A p /?R was positive then either ?df or ?dT were negative. In summertime when ?A p /?R was negative both ?df and ?dT were negative. When ?A p /?R was positive, while a positive ?df corresponded almost always to a positive ?dT, a negative ?df would equiprobably indicate either a positive or a negative ?dT.