Altitude extension of NCAR-TIEGCM (TIEGCM‑X) and evaluation
- 1Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- 2Beijing National Observatory of Space Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- 3High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
- 4Haystack Observatory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Westford, MA, USA
- 5Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
- 6Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
- 7Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, USA
- 8Department of Terrestrial and Planetary Geodesy, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, Toulouse, France
The upper boundary height of the traditional community general circulation model of the ionosphere‑thermosphere system is too low to be applied to the topside ionosphere/thermosphere study. In this study, the National Center for Atmospheric Research Thermosphere‑Ionosphere‑Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (NCAR‑TIEGCM) was successfully extended upward by four scale heights from 400–600 km to 700–1200 km depending on solar activity, named TIEGCM‑X. The topside ionosphere and thermosphere simulated by TIEGCM‑X agree well with the observations derived from a topside sounder and satellite drag data. In addition, the neutral density, temperature, and electron density simulated by TIEGCM‑X are morphologically consistent with the NCAR‑TIEGCM simulations before extension. The latitude‑altitude distribution of the equatorial ionization anomaly derived from TIEGCM‑X is more reasonable. During geomagnetic storm events, the thermospheric responses of TIEGCM‑X are similar to TIEGCM. However, the ionospheric storm effects in TIEGCM-X are stronger than those in TIEGCM and are even opposites at some middle and low latitudes due to the presence of more closed magnetic field lines. DMSP observations prove that the ionospheric storm effect of TIEGCM-X is more reasonable. The well‑validated TIEGCM‑X has significant potential applications in ionospheric/thermospheric studies, such as the responses to storms, low‑latitude dynamics, and data assimilation.
How to cite: Cai, Y., Yue, X., Wang, W., Zhang, S., Liu, H., Lin, D., Wu, H., Yue, J., Bruinsma, S. L., Ding, F., Ren, Z., and Liu, L.: Altitude extension of NCAR-TIEGCM (TIEGCM‑X) and evaluation, EGU General Assembly 2023, Vienna, Austria, 24–28 Apr 2023, EGU23-12894, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu23-12894, 2023.
