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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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