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Validation of the IRI–2020 topside ionosphere options through in–situ electron density observations by low–Earth–orbit satellites

Pignalberi, Alessio, Bilitza, Dieter, Co\"ısson, Pierdavide, Haralambous, Haris, Nava, Bruno, Pezzopane, Michael, Prol, Fabricio, Smirnov, Artem, Themens, David R., and Xiong, Chao, 2025. Validation of the IRI–2020 topside ionosphere options through in–situ electron density observations by low–Earth–orbit satellites. Advances in Space Research, 75(5):4192–4216, doi:10.1016/j.asr.2024.05.056.

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@ARTICLE{2025AdSpR..75.4192P,
       author = {{Pignalberi}, Alessio and {Bilitza}, Dieter and {Co{\"\i}sson}, Pierdavide and {Haralambous}, Haris and {Nava}, Bruno and {Pezzopane}, Michael and {Prol}, Fabricio and {Smirnov}, Artem and {Themens}, David R. and {Xiong}, Chao},
        title = "{Validation of the IRI-2020 topside ionosphere options through in-situ electron density observations by low-Earth-orbit satellites}",
      journal = {Advances in Space Research},
     keywords = {Topside ionosphere modeling, International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model, In-situ electron density observations, Low-Earth-Orbit satellites},
         year = 2025,
        month = mar,
       volume = {75},
       number = {5},
        pages = {4192-4216},
     abstract = "{The topside ionosphere extends from the F2-layer peak, where the
        electron density reaches its absolute maximum in the ionosphere,
        to the overlying plasmasphere and magnetosphere. In the topside
        ionosphere, the electron density decreases with height with a
        vertical variation rate strongly dependent on height itself. The
        last version of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI)
        model, i.e., IRI-2020, describes this complex behavior through
        four topside options based on different sub-models (i.e.,
        options) developed from the 1970s to the present. All these
        options have in common the F2-layer peak as an anchor point,
        while they differ in their topside electron density profile
        and/or plasma effective scale height formulations. In this work,
        we perform a validation of the accuracy of the four IRI-2020
        topside options based on the comparison against in-situ electron
        density observations by Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment
        (GRACE), Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON), and Defense
        Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) F15 low-Earth-orbit
        satellites. Datasets used in this study encompass observations
        recorded from 1999 to 2022, covering different diurnal,
        seasonal, and solar activity conditions, on a global basis and
        for the height range 400{\textendash}850 km above the ground.
        The nearly two solar cycles dataset facilitated the evaluation
        of IRI-2020 topside options ability to reproduce the spatial and
        time variations of the topside ionosphere for different solar
        activity conditions. The weaknesses and strengths of each
        IRI-2020 topside option are highlighted and discussed, and
        suggestions on how to improve the modeling of the challenging
        topside ionosphere region within the IRI model are provided for
        future reference.}",
          doi = {10.1016/j.asr.2024.05.056},
       adsurl = {https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2025AdSpR..75.4192P},
      adsnote = {Provided by the SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System}
}

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