Comparative Analysis of Topside Ne-Profiles: NeQuick2 and 3D EDD Models Against Radio Occultation Measurements Over Europe

Constructing the ionospheric electron density profile accurately is still a significant challenge for radio wave propagation research and space weather monitoring. In this work, we assess the performance of the 3D electron density reconstruction models provided in PITHIA-NRF eSC, . The first model is NeQuick2, and the second model is the 3D version of the TaD model. Both models use the bottomside maps updated with the Digisonde vertical electron density profiles and therefore their performance up to the hmF2 is identical. Models’ discrepancies in the topside region are due to insufficient constraints above the F2-layer peak. To assess the performance of the models we compare the resulted reconstructed profiles with independent datasets obtained from Radio Occultation profiles (e.g., COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 radio occultation). The study is focusing on defining the comparison methodology and applying to a case study under quiet ionospheric conditions. The comparison leads to some conclusions regarding the capacity of the reconstruction models to reproduce the various ionospheric layers, and mainly the F2 layer, with a realistic estimation of the density gradients and thickness, in both its bottomside and topside parts.