Implications of comparison of Physical Model Simulations and Data During the Last
Solar Minimum
Eduardo A. Araujo-Pradere [Eduardo.Araujo@noaa.gov], CIRES, University of Colorado,
Boulder and NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center; Tim Fuller-Rowell, Mariangel
Fedrizzi, Mihail Codrescu, and Rob Redmon
Modeling the thermosphere and ionosphere neutral and plasma parameters with a
physical model and comparing with a range of observations can be used to judges the
abnormality or otherwise of the last solar minimum. The years 2005 and 2007 have been
simulated with a coupled thermosphere-ionosphere- plasmasphere-electrodynamics model.
The simulations have been used to compare with a range of data sources and outputs from an
assimilation model, including total electron content from USTEC, neutral atmospheric
density from CHAMP, and plasma densities from both ground-based ionosondes and a year
long run of the EISCAT and Poker Flat incoherent scatter data facilities. The comparisons
between model and data will be used to determine if model drivers, such as EUV input or
magnetospheric sources, have to be outside the range expected from past climatology.