Abstract:
This thesis explores the use of high-latitude electric potential patterns obtained from
the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) as input to the Coupled Thermosphere
Ionosphere Plasmasphere (CTIP) model. By using a new method of highlatitude
convection input it is shown that some improvements to the modelling of the
spatial distribution of the electron density can be obtained.
In the earlier versions of the CTIP model the high-latitude electric potential input
was selected from a restricted library of convection patterns. By introducing the SuperDARN
electric potential data as the high-latitude input it is now possible to model
a wide range of di erent convection patterns, notably patterns occurring as a result of
Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) Bz positive conditions. In order to begin to validate
the use of this technique, images obtained from ionospheric radio tomography
experiments were used to form case studies involving periods of time where the IMF
Bz component was either stable and positive or stable and negative. This enabled the
ion densities from the tomography images to be compared to the ion densities obtained
from the CTIP model output. Initially this was done with two case-studies that had mature
interpretations in order to prove that the concept of using SuperDARN convection
patterns in CTIP was valid. Subsequent case-studies involved using the model with the
new convection pattern input method to assist with the interpretation of the tomography
images obtained from the Alaskan sector.
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