ESC Ionospheric Weather
Ionospheric Weather Expert Service Centre (I-ESC)
Mission Statement
The mission of the of the Ionospheric Weather ESC (I-ESC) is to is to provide and develop the functionalities, capabilities and expertise in the domain of Ionosphere and upper Atmosphere that are needed within the ESA SWE network to achieve as a collaborative enterprise its mission of demonstrating and assessing the influences of Space Weather and informing and supporting end users through the provision of accurate, reliable and timely products and (pre-)operational services, tailored to their requirements. The I-ESC thus provides, implements and supports the Ionospheric and upper Atmosphere Weather products and capabilities of the ESA SWE network, including the observation, monitoring, interpretation, modelling and forecasting of Ionospheric and upper Atmosphere Weather conditions.
Ionosphere Weather
Ionospheric Space Weather effects can adversely degrade the performance of radio systems in communication, space-based navigation and remote sensing. Thus, navigation signals transmitted by Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) - such as GPS or the European system Galileo - travelling through the ionosphere are delayed, refracted and diffracted by the highly variable ionospheric plasma. Since performance parameters such as accuracy, availability, continuity and integrity of GNSS signals are crucial in safety of life and precise positioning applications, detection, monitoring and prediction of ionospheric effects are important for mitigating the impact. The ionosphere depends on Space Weather effects and by itself contributes to Space Weather conditions, but this dependence also provides a unique opportunity to use dual frequency GNSS measurements to derive robust and accurate information on the ionospheric state under quiet and perturbed Space Weather conditions. This integrated, information-based approach benefits the operation of space-based systems within communication, navigation and remote sensing.
Thermosphere Weather
Thermosphere density is an essential parameter impacting the orbit of satellites in the Earth or. This ultimately leads to a shorter lifetime of the satellite. The intensity of solar irradiance and geomagnetic activity drive the thermosphere density. Both vary with the solar rotation and the 11 years solar cycle impact the thermosphere density. During space weather impacts, the thermosphere density can change significantly within a few hours due to electrodynamic processes that are strongly coupled to the ionosphere and magnetosphere. The increase of thermosphere density (which can be up to a few hundred percent) causes a decrease of the orbit altitude of the satellites orbiting in the thermosphere. The forecast of thermosphere density a few hours until month ahead is important for satellite operation and mission planning.
Current products provided by the I-ESC and available in SWE services:
- I.138 GNSS Performance Indicator
- I.101b Near-real-time map of the Total Electron Content (TEC) for the European region
- I.102b Forecast of the Total Electron Content (TEC) for the European region.
- I.103b Near-real-time global map of the Total Electron Content (TEC)
- I.104b Forecast of the Total Electron Content (TEC) worldwide.
- I.105a Equivalent slab thickness for Juliusruh
- I.105b Equivalent slab thickness for Pruhonice
- I.106 Global Scintillation Indices
- I.124 The Rate of change of TEC index (ROTI) maps for Europe
- I.139 Maximum Usable Frequency for skip-distances of 750 km (MUF750)
- I.128 Swarm Rate Of change of TEC (ROT)
- I.129 Swarm Total Electron Content (TEC)
- I.130 Swarm electron density (Ne)
- I.131 Swarm Ionospheric Bubble Index (IBI)
- I.141 Swarm Rate Of change of TEC Index (ROTI)
- I.161 Satellite Orbit DecAy (SODA) Neutral density forecast
- I.133 Nowcasts and Forecasts of Geomagnetic and Solar Indices Needed for Atmospheric Modelling in Support of Atmospheric Drag Calculation.
- I.114 Long term prediction (up to 3 month ahead) of foF2, European maps based on the upgraded SIRM model
- I.115 Nowcast European maps of foF2 (based on the upgraded SIRMUP model )
- I.116 Maps of forecasted foF2 over Europe for the next 24 hours, (based on SWIF and GCAM models)
- I.117 Near-real-time TEC maps for the European region (based on the TaD model)
- I.118 Alerts for ionospheric disturbances in the European sector (based on the Alert Algorithm of the SWIF model)
- I.119 Maps, updated in real-time showing the current ionospheric conditions at each station location.
- I.120 Forecast foF2 values for the next 24 hours over each DIAS ionosonde station, based on the SWIF and on the GCAM models
- I.140 Near real-time maps of hmF2 for the European region
- I.142 TechTIDE ionospheric electron density perturbation maps
- I.143 TechTIDE GNSS TEC gradient
- I.144 TechTIDE LSTID detector maps
- I.145 TechTIDE LSTID parameters over station
- I.146 TechTIDE LSTID activity index
- I.147 TechTIDE AATR indicator maps
- I.148 TechTIDE AATR indicator daily plots
- I.149 TechTIDE Medium Scale Travelling Ionospheric Disturbances (MSTID) detection for Czech Republic, Doppler system based
- I.150 TechTIDE MSTID index maps
- I.151 TechTIDE MSTID index daily plots
- I.152 TechTIDE TID Activity Report
- I.153 Nowcasting of MUF(3000)F2 over Europe
- I.154 Nowcasting of MUF(3000)F2 ratio over Europe
- I.155 Short Term Forecasting of MUF(3000)F2 over Europe
- I.156 Short Term Forecasting of MUF(3000)F2 ratio over Europe
- I.157 Nowcasting of TEC over Italy
- I.158 Short Term Forecasting of TEC over Italy
- I.107 VTEC maps (Northern Europe)
- I.108 GIVE maps (Northern Europe)
- I.109a ROTI maps (Northern Europe)
- I.109b ROTI@Ground maps (Fennoscandia)
- I.110a S4 maps (Northern Europe)
- I.110b σφ maps (Northern Europe)
- I.135a TomoScand3D
- I.135b TomoScand2D
- I.121 IONMON TEC maps
- I.122c Ionospheric Scintillation Monitoring service (ISM): S4 and Err(S4) nowcast modelled maps [Currently unavailable]
- I.122d Ionospheric Scintillation Monitoring service (ISM): SigmaPhi and Err(SigmaPhi) nowcast modelled maps [Currently unavailable]
- I.122e Ionospheric Scintillation Monitoring service (ISM): TEC and Err(TEC) nowcast modelled maps [Currently unavailable]
- I.122f Ionospheric Scintillation Monitoring service (ISM): S4 and Err(S4) 6-hour forecast modelled maps [Currently unavailable]
- I.122g Ionospheric Scintillation Monitoring service (ISM): SigmaPhi and Err(SigmaPhi) 6-hour forecast modelled maps [Currently unavailable]
- I.122i Ionospheric Scintillation Monitoring service (ISM): S4 and Err(S4) nowcast modelled values at a given location [Currently unavailable]
- I.122j Ionospheric Scintillation Monitoring service (ISM): SigmaPhi and Err(SigmaPhi) nowcast modelled values at a given location [Currently unavailable]
- I.122k Ionospheric Scintillation Monitoring service (ISM): TEC and Err(TEC) nowcast modelled values at a given location [Currently unavailable]
- I.122l Ionospheric Scintillation Monitoring service (ISM): S4 and Err(S4) 6h forecast modelled values at a given location [Currently unavailable]
- I.122m Ionospheric Scintillation Monitoring service (ISM): SigmaPhi and Err(SigmaPhi) 6h forecast modelled values at a given location [Currently unavailable]
- I.132 Atmospheric Density Estimates of Forecast and Prior Total Density for Atmopsheric Drag Calculation
- I.123a SISTED (Sunlit Ionosphere Sudden TEC Enhancement)
- I.123b SOLERA-drift
- I.123c SOLERA (SOLar Euv flux RAte GNSS proxy)
- I.123d SISTED warning
- I.123e SOLERA-drift warning
- I.162 UQRG-GIM - rapid 15-minute resolution global VTEC maps
The I-ESC concept is to demonstrate state of the art products proposed for future integration in the ESA space weather services and assess their capabilities and functionally and user satisfaction. Therefore, I-ESC demonstrates products, which are currently in a prototype level. Each demonstration product is presented by the corresponding contributor on federated websites.
- I.134b Hornsund riometer measurements
- I.159 Polar Radio Link
- I.160 Absorption alerts at 30 MHz and 38 MHz
- I.110c S4 maps
- I.110d σφ maps
ESC Coordinator
Martin Kriegel (DLR)