Modeling Incoherent Scatter Radar Electron Density Profiles Using Data Ingestion of Simultaneous Ionosonde Measurements
摘要
Accurate measurement and analysis of the ionospheric electron density profiles (EDPs) play a vital role in monitoring and understanding the behavior of the ionosphere. EDPs can be measured using space-based (remote sensing satellites, GNSS, sounding rockets, and balloons) and ground-based instruments (ionosondes and radars). Incoherent scatter radars, particularly, are powerful instruments for investigating the ionosphere's complex dynamics, providing a massive historical archive of ground-based EDP measurements. However, many of these measurements are often corrupted or incomplete due to various temporal, spatial, and space weather conditions. This work proposes a mathematical model that reconstructs the vertical EDPs measured from the ISR at the Jicamarca Radio Observatory (11.95° S, 76.87° W) using a spline-based technique. A data ingestion method based on a special exponential transformation was developed to incorporate concurrent measurements of vertical EDPs and EDP peak parameters (Nfm2 and hmf2) measured from the ISR and the ionosonde at Jicamarca. The measurements span the entirety of solar cycle 24 and the beginning of solar cycle 25, exposing the model to the various ionospheric conditions. The model's performance was evaluated by comparing the reconstructed electron density profiles with the corresponding Jicamarca collocated radio occultation (RO) EDPs. The preliminary results indicate a significant improvement in accuracy, ranging from 50 to 80%, after data ingestion. The root mean square error (RMSE) between the RO EDPs and reconstructed ISR EDPs falls within the range of \(0.56 \left( { \times 10^{11} {\text{el}}/{\text{m}}^{3} } \right)\) to \(0.98 \left( { \times 10^{11} {\text{el}}/{\text{m}}^{3} } \right)\) , , and the coefficients of determination (R-squared) vary from 0.927 to 0.993. The model demonstrates better reproduction of the full electron density profiles and the F region peak measurements compared to its state before data ingestion within an altitude coverage of 200–800 km. These findings validate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed approach. Future investigations will explore the feasibility of applying this approach to different locations and diverse ionospheric conditions.