Real-Time UAF Eulerian Parallel Polar Ionosphere Model

Archive of comparisons with the ionosonde network

Table below lists daytime/twilight/nighttime RMS values [in %] accumulated during particular month at the ionosonding locations. To access the corresponding plots click on the RMS values.
Station/Geograph.
(Geomagnetic)
Coordinates		Year/Month
ARCHIVE2006/022006/032006/042006/052006/062006/072006/082006/092006/10
Qaanaaq,
76N 68W (89N 12E)		 archive -/19/20 21/21/19 15/16/ - 15/16/ - 20/ -/ - 16/ -/ - 17/20/ - 18/21/20 20/19/24
Tromso,
70N 19E (67N117E)		 archive 20/23/41 24/32/45 20/26/26 17/13/ - 12/19/ - 14/21/ - 20/24/ - 17/29/31 19/25/37
Sondrestrom,
67N 51W(77N 35E)		 archive 18/22/21 19/20/22 15/23/21 13/25/ - 17/23/ - 14/20/ - 16/18/18 15/19/20 16/18/24
Salekhard,
66N 67E (57N150E) 		archive 17/24/36 27/33/49 20/31/29 15/26/ - -/ -/ - 13/21/ - 23/28/ - 17/21/24 18/19/21
College,
65N148W(65N102W) 		archive 14/30/25 16/27/25 16/29/26 11/42/ - -/ -/ - 14/46/ - 12/29/28 13/28/32 15/28/27
Lycksele,
65N 19E (63N112E) 		archive -/ -/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ -
Gakona,
62N 145W (63N95W) 		archive 14/26/40 19/31/54 21/28/34 12/31/ - 11/37/ - 10/37/ - 16/28/41 18/22/32 16/20/39
Narssarssuaq,
61N 45W (71N 39E) 		archive 15/37/38 17/39/36 16/37/37 13/33/ - 17/39/ - 15/33/ - 15/32/38 14/39/37 14/34/39
Magadan,
60N151E(60N149W) 		archive 12/24/35 21/25/37 20/33/29 13/39/ - -/ -/ - 13/38/ - 19/32/22 20/27/26 21/18/23
King Salmon,
59N157W(58N103W) 		archive 12/21/29 18/25/32 19/27/24 10/35/33 9/54/ - 8/50/ - 13/26/23 15/20/24 14/19/25
Juliusruh,
55N 13E (54N100E) 		archive 13/24/24 16/30/38 17/27/23 10/31/18 10/37/ - 8/38/32 18/30/27 14/26/24 13/22/21
Goose Bay,
53N 61W (64N 14E) 		archive 10/33/25 14/34/31 15/40/31 11/39/29 14/46/ - 13/46/38 13/37/29 12/38/42 14/31/35
Fairford,
52N 2W (54N 83E) 		archive 11/18/15 12/23/26 14/26/23 13/33/26 22/40/33 13/43/42 20/31/18 11/28/30 15/24/30
Chilton,
52N 1W (54N 83E) 		archive 13/18/17 15/23/27 17/27/19 -/ -/ - 17/39/30 18/40/30 18/29/23 13/28/26 13/22/24
Manzhouli,
50N118E(38N174W) 		archive 12/15/16 16/18/18 18/25/28 15/32/33 11/33/35 14/35/34 25/23/18 15/26/36 16/24/36
Millstone Hill,
43N 72W (54N 1W) 		archive 8/16/18 13/25/28 16/34/28 -/ -/- 17/41/31 20/42/30 16/31/28 11/30/28 14/20/26
Bear Lake,
42N111W(50N131W) 		archive 11/14/24 13/19/29 -/ -/ - 13/27/20 -/ -/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ -
Boulder,
40N105W(49N139W) 		archive 10/13/22 10/18/25 15/23/20 13/32/21 17/38/24 20/36/25 17/26/20 -/ -/ - -/ -/ -
Wallops,
38N 76W (49N174W) 		archive 9/20/18 11/21/23 17/25/27 -/ -/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ - 17/27/25 10/26/29 13/29/34

Table below lists daytime/twilight/nighttime RMS values [in %] accumulated during particular month at the ionosonding locations. To access the corresponding plots click on the RMS values.
Station/Geograph.
(Geomagnetic)
Coordinates		Year/Month
ARCHIVE2005/052005/062005/072005/082005/092005/102005/112005/122006/01
Qaanaaq,
76N 68W (89N 12E)		 archive 18/18/ - 13/ -/ - 12/ -/ - 13/12/ - 22/20/13 29/20/18 -/20/22 -/23/25 -/20/22
Tromso,
70N 19E (67N117E)		 archive 23/27/ - 15/17/ - 16/25/ - 18/18/ - 25/33/40 17/25/29 -/22/35 -/26/42 -/26/38
Sondrestrom,
67N 51W(77N 35E)		 archive 18/16/ - 14/13/ - 15/15/ - 13/18/22 23/22/22 17/16/22 14/21/20 -/22/21 9/22/20
Salekhard,
66N 67E (57N150E) 		archive 23/18/ - 15/18/ - 15/15/ - 18/31/10 27/31/32 16/22/24 23/20/30 -/21/38 14/19/37
College,
65N148W(65N102W) 		archive 15/33/ - 12/23/ - 12/27/ - 14/30/ - -/ -/ - 20/30/21 17/27/26 -/26/24 12/26/17
Lycksele,
65N 19E (63N112E) 		archive 31/16/ - -/ -/ - 17/17/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ - -/ -/ -
Gakona,
62N 145W (63N95W) 		archive 20/31/ - 13/24/ - 13/30/ - 16/29/35 28/28/41 24/24/33 22/21/34 12/19/36 11/20/38
Narssarssuaq,
61N 45W (71N 39E) 		archive 20/29/ - 16/27/ - 17/32/ - 13/32/24 20/39/40 16/36/41 14/31/39 11/28/39 13/32/35
Magadan,
60N151E(60N149W) 		archive 20/34/ - 14/44/ - 15/43/ - 17/33/ - 30/36/38 17/24/24 19/22/28 16/21/30 14/24/33
King Salmon,
59N157W(58N103W) 		archive 18/33/27 11/55/ - 12/43/ - 15/28/24 42/36/29 18/24/24 16/21/26 15/22/23 13/18/20
Juliusruh,
55N 13E (54N100E) 		archive 20/32/27 14/28/ - 14/27/13 14/27/21 -/ -/ - 10/19/21 13/20/19 14/21/24 14/17/26
Goose Bay,
53N 61W (64N 14E) 		archive 18/36/26 14/33/ - 14/32/18 12/35/25 16/33/28 14/32/30 12/27/28 10/24/25 10/25/23
Fairford,
52N 2W (54N 83E) 		archive 18/21/19 15/26/21 15/25/19 13/22/18 19/20/21 13/25/22 12/22/24 14/21/23 12/17/16
Chilton,
52N 1W (54N 83E) 		archive 20/23/22 15/25/18 16/26/19 15/25/20 21/25/25 13/24/19 9/20/21 17/21/20 14/17/17
Manzhouli,
50N118E(38N174W) 		archive 23/22/16 18/26/24 18/24/21 21/19/19 28/23/19 11/22/38 17/22/24 20/28/22 20/24/19
Millstone Hill,
43N 72W (54N 1W) 		archive 20/35/30 16/32/25 16/31/26 14/31/27 16/22/28 11/22/26 12/21/22 21/22/32 28/20/27
Bear Lake,
42N111W(50N131W) 		archive 25/26/24 19/28/24 17/26/23 19/23/21 16/17/19 18/28/26 13/29/28 13/23/24 11/17/22
Boulder,
40N105W(49N139W) 		archive 22/27/24 17/29/24 16/27/24 18/24/23 12/16/19 15/27/24 11/28/28 13/23/23 11/18/21
Wallops,
38N 76W (49N174W) 		archive 20/26/22 15/25/19 14/23/19 16/24/21 15/18/19 13/50/30 12/25/33 14/21/30 12/20/30

Table below lists daytime/twilight/nighttime RMS values [in %] accumulated during particular month at the ionosonding locations. To access the corresponding plots click on the RMS values.
Station/Geograph.
(Geomagnetic)
Coordinates		Year/Month
ARCHIVE2004/082004/092004/102004/112004/122005/012005/022005/032005/04
Qaanaaq,
76N 68W (89N 12E)		 archive 14/14/ - 17/14/ - 25/23/24 -/34/37 -/40/32 -/ -/ - -/ -/ - 25/22/21 24/23/ -
Tromso,
70N 19E (67N117E)		 archive 14/16/- 22/26/23 25/28/31 -/36/46 -/26/41 -/32/46 17/28/37 18/29/29 26/24/22
Sondrestrom,
67N 51W(77N 35E)		 archive 14/26/- 18/24/34 17/17/24 17/28/29 -/21/27 26/30/30 19/18/26 16/20/21 17/17/19
Salekhard,
66N 67E (57N150E) 		archive 20/36/- 25/38/55 22/26/44 20/29/60 -/36/40 13/26/28 20/30/29 19/40/32 23/39/27
College,
65N148W(65N102W) 		archive 10/49/55 18/37/48 17/31/42 24/40/50 -/20/25 23/26/26 18/33/26 15/37/23 16/32/18
Lycksele,
65N 19E (63N112E) 		archive 17/36/49 22/37/44 25/26/43 14/24/41 -/22/36 -/ -/ - 18/24/24 16/35/30 23/37/31
Narssarssuaq,
61N 45W (71N 39E) 		archive 14/38/49 14/28/39 16/38/46 22/46/54 14/25/42 19/34/41 14/34/35 16/35/35 19/33/33
Magadan,
60N151E(60N149W) 		archive 23/38/56 33/30/37 28/23/29 17/30/39 33/45/44 23/32/32 18/26/38 21/25/39 25/29/34
King Salmon,
59N157W(58N103W) 		archive 17/37/54 27/24/42 20/22/31 26/34/48 15/27/43 25/21/22 17/23/26 16/24/30 20/26/30
Juliusruh,
55N 13E (54N100E) 		archive 17/31/54 20/21/42 19/18/28 13/26/45 13/24/40 25/21/22 -/ -/ - 17/22/21 18/26/28
Goose Bay,
53N 61W (64N 14E) 		archive 14/42/60 17/35/55 17/30/49 18/36/49 24/36/40 16/24/29 12/23/30 17/37/33 18/34/30
Fairford,
52N 2W (54N 83E) 		archive 16/29/53 14/18/42 17/19/31 16/28/46 13/28/40 33/18/15 12/23/30 15/17/20 14/21/20
Chilton,
52N 1W (54N 83E) 		archive _ _ 17/18/32 15/28/48 13/26/39 23/24/18 14/17/19 18/20/21 17/22/23
Manzhouli,
50N118E(38N174W) 		archive 28/29/47 31/25/42 22/25/33 16/28/48 -/ -/ - 28/33/24 16/18/17 13/16/17 17/16/17
Millstone Hill,
43N 72W (54N 1W) 		archive 17/28/50 19/21/37 13/20/42 13/30/49 13/22/33 23/22/23 13/18/27 18/24/28 19/30/31
Bear Lake,
42N111W(50N131W) 		archive 16/20/41 24/17/25 16/27/31 19/33/43 11/37/46 18/23/31 14/18/21 16/16/17 23/19/21
Boulder,
40N105W(49N139W) 		archive 16/22/38 21/23/34 14/26/31 14/33/45 9/34/45 23/25/24 12/19/19 12/13/15 20/21/22
Wallops,
38N 76W (49N174W) 		archive 17/20/47 17/19/40 12/22/39 14/31/54 11/23/43 15/18/22 13/17/27 16/16/22 16/20/19

Table below lists comparison plots of the UAF EPPIM simulation vs. ionosondes' data. To access the plots, click on the relative daytime/nighttime accumulated RMS values [in %] for particular month at the corresponding station.
Station/Geograph.
Coordinates		Year/Month
2003/122004/012004/022004/032004/042004/052004/062004/072004/082004/09
Qaanaaq,
76N 68W		 29 / 28 23 / 25 28 / 28 27 / 23 22 / 18 15 / 16 13 / N/A 15 / N/A 14 / 14 17 / 14
Tromso,
70N 19E		 _ _ _ _ _ 17 / 15 10 / 14 14 / 19 14 / 16 22 / 23
Sondrestrom,
67N 51W		 26 / 24 27 / 25 24 / 28 22 / 30 20 / 31 14 / 17 14 / 15 15 / 19 13 / 26 18 / 34
Salekhard,
66N 67E 		28 / 40 25 / 41 28 / 42 29 / 39 26 / 40 19 / 17 12 / 13 18 / 16 19 / 30 25 / 55
College,
65N 148W 		26 / 40 19 / 39 20 / 46 20 / 47 26 / 31 11 / 29 11 / 24 14 / 28 10 / 50 18 / 48
Lycksele,
65N 19E 		_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 16 / 20 17 / 49 22 / 44
Narssarssuaq,
61N 45W 		15 / 40 14 / 50 18 / 43 22 / 40 21 / 46 14 / 34 14 / 33 19 / 36 14 / 38 14 / 39
Magadan,
60N 151E 		27 / 42 25 / 30 29 / 37 33 / 35 27 / 43 21 / 36 14 / 41 19 / 43 22 / 41 33 / 37
King Salmon,
59N 157W 		29 / 33 26 / 26 19 / 30 23 / 35 25 / 46 15 / 37 10 / 41 16/ 44 16/ 45 27/ 42
Juliusruh,
55N 13E 		17 / 36 17 / 21 16 / 25 21 / 25 24 / 32 16 / 44 11 / 38 19 / 29 16 / 55 20 / 42
Goose Bay,
53N 61W 		14 / 34 12 / 42 15 / 46 22 / 49 18 / 55 14 / 55 14 / 50 14 / 50 13 / 60 17 / 55
Fairford,
52N 2W 		_ _ 11 / 30 20 / 27 22 / 32 16 / 52 13 / 45 18 / 45 16 / 53 14 / 42
Manzhouli,
50N 118E 		_ _ 21 / 27 25 / 29 24 / 42 22 / 46 19 / 60 25 / 53 28 / 47 31 / 42
Millstone Hill,
43N 72W 		_ _ 11 / 37 22 / 38 18 / 48 26 / 38 13 / 64 21 / 60 15 / 50 19 / 37
Bear Lake,
42N 111W 		_ _ _ _ _ no data 11 / 55 19 / 40 14 / 43 24 / 25
Boulder,
40N 105W 		_ _ _ _ _ 17 / 41 15 / 47 21 / 47 15 / 38 21 / 34
Wallops,
38N 76W 		no data 19 / 35 13 / 38 19 / 38 16 / 44 17 / 49 13 / 58 22 / 52 17 / 47 17 / 40

Currently, the real-time (or near real-time) ionosonde data from the global network is available on-line at the Space Environment Center WWW-server as monthly and daily files. The UAF EPPIM domain (Figure on top) incorporates locations of fifteen ionosondes from this network, while two more sites are outside in a relatively close vicinity to the EPPIM mid-latitude boundary. Numerical emulation of the critical frequency (foF2, [MHz]) measurements is performed during the EPPIM forecasting real-time run. Forecasted foF2 are evaluated using maximal value Ne[cm -3] of the simulated electron density profiles, selected from the 3-D electron density distribution for the corresponding times at the locations above:

Ne [cm -3] = 1.24*104 * (foF2 [MHz] ) 2

Please follow links below for qraphical comparisons of the forecasts with the measured values. Accumulated monthly RMS errors (in %) are specfied for each location. Each daily graph on the monthly plot shows the following information:

  • on the top: date and the corresponding solar activity index F10.7
  • darker background on the graphs corresponds to the local night conditions (solar zenith angle exeeds 105 degrees), lighter background depicts twilights (zenith angle between 85 and 105 degrees), and white background shows the daytime period (zenith angle less than 85 degrees)
  • the EPPIM forecasted foF2 [MHz] are shown with black solid line
  • measured foF2 (every 15 minutes or, at some locations with older ionosondes, hourly results) are depicted with small red triangles
  • in the lower graphs' portion: color-coded time history of the geomagnetic activity (USAF synoptical determination of hourly Kp)
  • in the graphs' upper part: the dynamically delayed variations of the IMF Bz-component [nT] (current ACE data) upon application of ten minutes' running averaging

    For current results click on the station location on the map or on the station name in the list:

    To explore differences in the forecasting accuracy, the same procedure will be applied in the future to the database-driven public domain polar ionosphere models (Phillips Laboratory PIM and, possibly, IRI-95).

    The following is the references to the real-time ionozonde daily data at the SEC on-line depository (click here for a full list):

  • Thule/Qaanaaq Greenland (76N 68W)
  • Sondrestrom Greenland (67N 51W)
  • Narssarssuaq Greenland (61N 45W)
  • Goose Bay, Labrador Canada (53N 60W)
  • Fairford, UK (52N 01W)
  • Wallops Island (38N 75W)
  • Point Arguello, CA (35N 121W)
  • Dyess AFB (33N 100W)

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