Process for the EIS foF2 Nowcast Maps

Nowcasts of the foF2 critical frequency for the European region are made available with hourly resolution in the form of maps as images (PNG) and text files (ASCII). The maps cover the European area between -10°W and 40°E in longitude and between 34°N and 80°N in latitude and are updated every hour. The grid values are estimated through the implementation of the upgraded Simplified Ionospheric Regional Model Updated in real-time (SIRMUP, Zolesi et al., 2004; Tsagouri et al., 2005). This combines the standard SIRMUP output in the middle latitudes (up to 60°N) with the real-time updated CCIR output for the higher latitudes. The update of the CCIR maps follows the concept of the SIRMUP and the estimation of the effective sunspot number (Houminer et al. 1993) independently at high latitudes. The algorithm receives as input real time autoscaled foF2 values from the expanded DIAS network.