SWACI - Vertical Electron Density Distribution

SWACI is a research project of DLR supported by the State Government of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Radio signals, transmitted by modern communication and navigation systems may be heavily disturbed by space weather hazards. Thus, severe temporal and spatial changes of the electron density in the ionosphere may significantly degrade the signal quality of various radio systems which even may lead to a complete loss of the signal. By providing specific space weather information, in particular now- and forecast of the ionospheric state, the accuracy and reliability of impacted communication and navigation systems shall be improved.

NmF2 Maps and 3D electron density distribution:
According to the pioneer work of Sir E. Appleton the vertical structure of the terrestrial ionosphere may be devided into different layers (D, E, F1, F2) with different physical characteristics. The layers are primarily characterized by its height and peak electron density. Typical plasma frequencies /electron densities are in the order of 10 MHz /1012 electrons / m3.

Shown are here global maps of the peak electron density of the F2 layer and related electron density maps at selected altitudes. The figures provide a first estimation of the three dimensional electron density distributions around the globe. For more details see http://swaciweb.dlr.de/data-and-products/public/nmf2/?L=1.