Project Loon based augmentation for global ionospheric modeling over Southern Hemisphere.

Area of Science:

• Space Physics
• Geophysics
• Atmospheric Science

Background:

• Global ionospheric models using GNSS data have accuracy limitations in data-sparse regions like oceans and southern latitudes.
• Project Loon's stratospheric balloons offer a unique platform for augmenting global navigation satellite system (GNSS) measurements.
• Improving the accuracy of vertical total electron content (VTEC) maps is crucial for various space weather applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To simulate the augmentation of global ionospheric modeling using Project Loon data.
• To assess the performance improvement of VTEC maps with Project Loon-based data.
• To validate the enhanced VTEC maps using independent datasets.

Main Methods:

• Simulated VTEC measurements from Project Loon balloons using the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model.
• Comparison of simulated VTEC maps with existing VTEC maps from Ionosphere Associate Analysis Centers (IAACs) and International GNSS Service (IGS) final Global Ionospheric Maps (GIMs).
• Validation of improved VTEC maps using JASON satellite altimetry data.

Main Results:

• Enhanced VTEC maps demonstrated better consistency with IGS final GIMs.
• Significant improvements in Root Mean Square (RMS) maps were observed for middle and southern latitudes.
• JASON data validation indicated slight but notable improvements in VTEC map performance, particularly in southern latitudes.

Conclusions:

• Simulated Project Loon data augmentation shows potential for enhancing global ionospheric VTEC map accuracy.
• The study highlights the benefits of utilizing stratospheric platforms for improving ionospheric data coverage.
• Future deployment of real GNSS measurements from Project Loon balloons could lead to substantial advancements in global ionospheric modeling.