Behavior of the bottomside electron density profile over Pruhonice Original Research Article

Ionosonde data obtained at Pruhonice (50.0°N; 15.0°E) during different times of the day, seasons and periods of the solar cycle are used to study the behavior of the F2 thickness and shape parameters, B0 and B1, respectively. Experimental values of both parameters are compared with the predictions of the latest version of the International Ionosphere Reference, IRI-2000. A preliminary analysis of the variability of the ionospheric parameters ƒoF2, M(3000)F2,ƒo F1 and ƒoE is also done using the variability index Cup-Clo = interquartile range/median. The study shows that: (i) the IRI Gulyaeva BO option reproduces better the experimental electron density profiles than the B0-Table option, (ii) the new values introduced for B1 in the IRI-2000 model are more realistic than the constant value of three adopted by the IRI-90 and IRI-95 versions, (iii) the variability in the E and Fl regions is less than that observed in the F2 region, (iv) the M(3000)F2 factor exhibits low variability. Additional studies will be done in order to contribute to the development of a model for the variability indices used in this study.