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Ann. Geophys., 23, 191-199, 2005
www.ann-geophys.net/23/191/2005/
© European Geosciences Union 2005
Polar F-layer model-observation comparisons: a neutral wind surprise
J. J. Sojka1, M. David1, R. W. Schunk1, and A. P. van Eyken2
1Center for Atmospheric and Space Sciences, Utah State University, Logan, Utah 84322-4405, USA
2EISCAT Scientific Association, Box 164, SE-981 23 Kiruna, Sweden
Abstract. The existence of a month-long continuous database of incoherent scatter
radar observations of the ionosphere from the EISCAT Savlbard Radar (ESR) at
Longyearbyen, Norway, provides an unprecedented opportunity for model/data
comparisons. Physics-based ionospheric models, such as the Utah State
University Time Dependent Ionospheric Model (TDIM), are usually only compared
with observations over restricted one or two day events or against
climatological averages. In this study, using the ESR observations, the
daily weather, day-to-day variability, and month-long climatology can be
simultaneously addressed to identify modeling shortcomings and successes.
Since for this study the TDIM is driven by climatological representations of
the magnetospheric convection, auroral oval, neutral atmosphere, and neutral
winds, whose inputs are solar and geomagnetic indices, it is not surprising
that the daily weather cannot be reproduced. What is unexpected is that the
horizontal neutral wind has come to the forefront as a decisive model input
parameter in matching the diurnal morphology of density structuring seen in
the observations.
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