D. Bilitza
NASA/GSFC, Heliospheric Physics Lab., Code 672, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771
and Space Weather Lab., George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
(301) 286-0190,
dieter.bilitza-1@nasa.gov,
dbilitza@gmu.edu
PARAMETERS:
Electron density, electron temperature, ion temperature,
ion composition (O
+, H
+, He
+, NO
+,
O
+2), ion drift, ionopsheric electron content (TEC), F1 and spread-F probability
BRIEF DESCRIPTION:
The International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) is an international project
sponsored by the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) and the International
Union of Radio Science (URSI). These organizations formed a Working Group
(members
list)
in the late sixties to produce an empirical standard model of the ionosphere,
based on all available data sources (
charter
). Several steadily improved editions of the
model have been released. For given location, time and date, IRI provides monthly
averages of the electron density, electron temperature, ion temperature, and ion
composition in the altitude range from 50 km to 2000 km. Additionally parameters given
by IRI include the Total Electron Content (TEC; a user can select the starting and
ending height of the integral), the occurrence probability for Spread-F and also
the F1-region, and the equatorial vertical ion drift.
The major data sources are the
worldwide network of ionosondes, the powerful incoherent scatter radars
(Jicamarca, Arecibo, Millstone Hill, Malvern, St. Santin), the ISIS and
Alouette topside sounders, and in situ instruments on several satellites and
rockets. IRI is updated yearly during special
IRI Workshops (e.g., during COSPAR general assembly). More information
can be found in the workshop reports.
Several extensions are planned, including
models for the ion drift, description of the auroral and polar ionosphere, and
consideration of magnetic storm effects.
An IRI listserver keeps the community informed about model updates, workshops, publication,
and other IRI-related matters. To subscribe send a message (the content doesn't matter) to
internationalreferenceionosphere-subscribe@lists.nasa.gov and reply to the confirmation
message.
The IRI master copy is held at the NASA's Space Physics Data Facility (SPDF)
and Community Coordinate Modeling Center (CCMC) and is updated according to the decisions
of the IRI Working Group. The software
package distributed by SPDF and CCMC includes the FORTRAN
subroutines, model coefficients (CCIR and URSI), and documentation files.
The IRI build-up and formulas described in detail in a 158-page NSSDC report
(Bilitza, 1990).
RELATED LINKS:
* MIT: Real-time IRI worldmaps and movies (last 24 hours)
link
* IPS: Maps of real-time TEC for
Autraliasia,
North America,
Europe, and
Japan
* WDC Kyoto: Computation of ionospheric conductivities using IRI90 and CIRA72 models
link
* NASA LRC: Models page of LDEF Archive System
link
* SPENVIS: The SPace ENVironment Information System developed at
the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy for ESA/ESTEC
link
* SWENET: ESA's Space Weather European NETwork (IRI TEC movies of previous 24 hours)
link
* U Leicester: IRI TEC maps
link
NSSDC ID: MI-91J
REFERENCES (some can be accessed as PDF documents):
K. Rawer, D. Bilitza, and S. Ramakrishnan, Goals and Status of the
International Reference Ionosphere, Rev. Geophys., 16, 177-181, 1978.
K. Rawer, S. Ramakrishnan, and D. Bilitza, International Reference Ionosphere
1978, International Union of Radio Science, URSI Special Report, 75 pp.,
Bruxelles, Belgium, 1978.
K. Rawer, J. V. Lincoln, and R. O. Conkright, International Reference
Ionosphere-IRI 79, World Data Center A for Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Report
UAG-82, 245 pp., Boulder, Colorado, 1981.
K. Rawer and C. M. Minnis, Experience with and Proposed Improvements of the
International Reference Ionosphere (IRI), World Data Center A for
Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Report UAG-90, 235 pp., Boulder, Colorado, 1984.
D. Bilitza, K. Rawer, L. Bossy, and T. Gulyaeva, International
Reference Ionosphere - Past, Present, Future: I. Electron Density, Adv. Space Res. 13, #3,
3-13, 1993.
[
PDF]
D. Bilitza, K. Rawer, L. Bossy, and T. Gulyaeva, International
Reference Ionosphere - Past, Present, Future: II. Plasma Temperatures, Ion Composition, and Ion Drift, Adv. Space Res. 13, #3,
15-23, 1993.
[
PDF]
D. Bilitza and K. Rawer, International Reference Ionosphere, pp735-772,
in: The Upper Atmosphere - Data Analysis and Interpretation, W. Dieminger,
G. Hartmann and R. Leitinger (eds.), Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 1996.
D. Bilitza, International Reference Ionosphere - Status 1995/96,
Adv. Space Res. 20, #9, 1751-1754, 1997.
D. Bilitza, International Reference Ionosphere 2000,
Radio Science 36, #2, 261-275, 2001.
[
PDF]
D. Bilitza, International Reference Ionosphere 2000: Examples of improvements and
new features, Adv. Space Res. 31, #3, 757-767, 2003.
[
PDF]
B. Reinisch and D. Bilitza, Karl Rawer's life and the history of IRI, Adv.
Space Res. 34, #9, 1845-1950, doi:10.1016/j.asr.2004.09.002, 2004.
[
PDF]
D. Bilitza and Reinisch, B., International Reference Ionosphere 2007:
Improvements and new parameters, J. Adv. Space Res., 42, #4, 599-609,
doi:10.1016/j.asr.2007.07.048, 2008.
[
PDF]
D. Bilitza, B. Reinisch, and J. Lastovicka, Progress in Observation-Based Ionospheric
Modeling: Space Weather, 6, S02002, doi:10.1029/2007SW000359, 2008.
[
online]
J. Fernandez, C. Mertens, D. Bilitza, X. Xu, J. Russell III, and M. Mlynczak, Feasibility
of developing an ionospheric E-region electron density storm model using TIMED/SABER
measurements, Adv. Space Res. 46,#8, 1070-1077, DOI: 10.1016/j.asr.2010.06.008, 2010.
[
PDF]
P. Nsumei, B. Reinisch, X. Huang, and D. Bilitza, Comparing topside and bottomside-measured
characteristics of the F2 layer peak, Adv. Space Res.46,#8, 974-983,
DOI:10.1016/j.asr.2010.06.027, 2010.
[
PDF]
Y. Zhang, L. Paxton, and D. Bilitza, Near real-time assimilation of auroral peak E-region
density and equatorward boundary in IRI, , Adv. Space Res.46,#8, 1055-1063,
DOI:10.1016/j.asr.2010.06.029, 2010.
[
PDF]
P. Richards, D. Bilitza, and D. Voglozin, Ion density calculator (IDC): A new efficient
model of ionospheric ion densities, Radio Sci., 45, RS5007, doi:10.1029/2009RS004332, 2010.
[
PDF]
D. Bilitza, L.-A. McKinnell, B. Reinisch, and T. Fuller-Rowell, The International Reference Ionosphere
(IRI) today and in the future, J. Geodesy, 85:909-920, DOI 10.1007/s00190-010-0427-x, 2011.
[
PDF]
D. Bilitza, Steven A Brown, Matthew Y. Wang, Jonas R. Souza, and Patrick A Roddy, Measurements
and IRI Model Predictions during the Recent Solar Minimum, J. Atmos. Solar-Terr. Phys., 86,
99-106, doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2012.06.010, 2012.
[
PDF]