Ground-based ionospheric networks in Europe

Ljiljana R. Cander

The program elements of any space weather services include:

• basic research;• modelling;• observations;• technology transition;• operational specification and forecasting;• education.

All these elements are vital and the program cannot succeed unless all the separate elements work together. The focus of this talk will be the current status of ground-based ionospheric networks in Europe. Hence, observations and data.

Some of the basic data needed to support ionospheric research and associated space weather services are:

• Bottomside electron density profiles from ionosondes,• In situ electron density measurements from satellites, • Total Electron Content (TEC) measurements between ground-based receivers and the GNSS satellites, • Scintillation data from scintillation receivers,• Radio occultation data from satellite constellations,• Ultraviolet (UV) images of the upper atmosphere from imaging satellites.

Ionospheric community has a long tradition of providing global observations of the Earth’s ionosphere through the use of ground- as well as space-based remote sensing.

In addition to providing global data sets for scientific research involving ionospheric data on a different scale, this community has pioneered in facilitating the use of these data by operational agencies, and in incorporating them through their inclusion in data assimilation systems to improve environmental forecasting.

Several examples of our European experiences in these areas, and a sense of "lessons learned" that may be of use as new types of data products and forecasting capability are enabled for space weather studies will follow.

Map showing the COST 251 Action (1995-1999) area of Europe between latitudes 35-70°N and longitudes 10°W-60°E and the locations of the vertical-incidence ionosondes contributing to the COST251 data bank.

Prompt Ionospheric Database (http://www.wdc.rl.ac.uk/)

The COST271 Action (2000-2004) Space weather Database: Ionosphere at the Word Data Centre, RAL

The COST271 Action (2000-2004)Space weather Database: Ionosphere at the Word Data Centre, RAL

Prompt Ionospheric Database

http://www.iono.noa.gr/DIAS

Ionograms simultaneously recorded at all DIAS stations

The International GNSS Service (IGS), formerly the International GPS Service, is a voluntary federation of more than 200 worldwide agencies that pool resources and permanent GPS & GLONASS station data to generate precise GPS & GLONASS products.

336 active stations as of 06 November 2006

JPL Global map of ionospheric total electron content (TEC)

Evaluation of GPS-based ionospheric vertical TEC regional maps

http://ionosphere.rcru.rl.ac.uk/

TEC maps of Europe

http://www.kn.nz.dlr.de/daily/tec-eu/

Many see provision of this data as:•public sector task,• routine monitoring of environment, e.g. SSN, Kp, foF2, TEC, etc.,• dissemination of physical parameters from that monitoring users see as basic scientific data.

Operational ground-based systems are reliable and accurate – thus expensive.Therefore, the most important message towards decision-makers:There is need to secure existing European data sources as well as develop new sources.Propose project via ESFRI (European Strategy Forum

on Research Infrastructures) national representatives!!!