Electron density profile modeling

Abstract

The Base Point Model (BPM) is used to model the electron density (N) profile in the ionosphere, This model assumes two Chapman profile expressions one for the bottomside and one for the topside, and requires a characteristic point called "F region base point". The comparison among the modeled and experimental bottom-side N profiles obtained from Tucuman (26,9°S; 65.4°W) ionosonde shows that, in general, there is a very good agreement within 30 km below the height of the maximum N(hm). Cases with a very good agreement for the entire N-profile are observed. The study of the electron content below hm and the Total Electron Content (TEC) measured over Tucuman shows that, the difference among predicted and measured TEC is due to the disagreement in the topside N-profile more than that observed in the bottomside N-profile.

Keywords

• Ionosphere
• electron density
• total electron content