Here are some highlights taken from the 2007 CISM Annual Report:
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CMIT 2.0 was shown to reproduce vertical ion drifts at Jicamarca.
Data generated by CMIT closely matched observational data taken at
the Jicamarca Radio
Observatory.
Click here for more information.
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The thermosphere ionosphere nested grid (TING) model was used to
investigate the rate of the recovery of the
ionosphere/thermosphere system from geomagnetic storms. The model
reproduced the main features of the differences between the
recovery rates at solar maximum and solar minimum, so we also used
it to investigate the causes of the differences and came to the
following conclusions:
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The TING model indicates that there is faster TEC recovery at
solar minimum than at solar maximum in regions in which
negative storm effects occur which is in agreement with
observations (Mendillo, 2006);
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The recovery rates in the model are the same at both extremes
of the solar cycle in regions in which positive storm effects
exist
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This difference in recovery rates results from the reaction
rate of O+ with N2
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At solar minimum, increasing the temperature decreases the
rate of this reaction (see Figure x+1), which in turn leads to
faster recovery in regions where electron densities are
depleted
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At solar maximum increasing the temperature increases the
reaction rate, thus increasing the recovery time needed in
regions of negative storm effects
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These recovery rates are sensitive to temperature changes
during storms and very sensitive to the function used in the
recovery rate – more exact knowledge of these two parameters
would improve our ability to undertake space weather modeling
in the ionosphere.