First-Principles Ionospheric Modeling

CPI has been active in both the development and use of first principles ionospheric models. For example, under Phase II of an SBIR contract, CPI added light ions (H⁺ and He⁺) to AFRL's Global Theoretical Ionospheric Model (GTIM) to allow limited modeling of the plasmasphere and a more realistic topside ionosphere. In addition to using this to develop CPI's Parameterized Appleton Anomaly Model (PAAM), CPI has used this model to conduct space weather research. This activity includes modeling storm time f_oF₂ observed by ionosondes while varying the thermospheric composition in accordance with the O/N₂ ratio obtained from the analysis of DE-1 images.