Specifying the equatorial ionosphere using CINDI on C/NOFS, COSMIC, and data interpolating empirical orthogonal functions

Abstract

Data Interpolating Empirical Orthogonal Functions (DINEOFs) are a data‐based method for determining a few orthogonal basis functions that optimally reproduce a given data set. This technique is applied to meridional drift measurements performed by the Coupled Ion Neutral Dynamics Investigation (CINDI) onboard the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) as well as electron density profiles derived from GPS Radio Occulations (RO) performed by the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC). The low densities of the equatorial ionosphere spanning 2009–2010 restricted quality drift measurements by CINDI to altitudes near perigee, limiting the local time coverage of measurements. Full local time descriptions may be obtained as perigee moves through all local times though this requires a minimum 67 day season. To increase the data coverage of the ionosphere, CINDI data are supplemented with COSMIC GPS RO data. DINEOFs are applied to median meridional drift measurements as well as COSMIC measurements spanning 2009–2010 and are used to make a best estimate of the equatorial ionosphere at locations not observed. The scattered distribution of COSMIC profiles as well as the physical relationship between meridional ion drifts and the distribution of density with altitude improves the quality of the reconstructions compared to using CINDI alone. The DINEOF reconstructions demonstrate that the annual anomaly of reduced ionospheric densities in June compared to December measured by COSMIC is coincident with a change in the meridional ion drifts at the geomagnetic equator measured by CINDI.