Averaged NmF2 of cusp-latitude ionosphere in northern hemisphere for solar minimum — Comparison between modeling and ESR during IPY

Based on the ionosphere observation data obtained by EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR) in solar minimum year — 2007, we analyzed diurnal variations of F2-peak electron density (NmF2) in four seasons under disturbed and quiet geomagnetic conditions. It indicated that the soft precipitation electron had an evident effect on the NmF2 increase at magnetic noon in spring, summer and autumn and the electron precipitation effects were prominent in winter. The comparison between the IRI-2007 model and the observation exhibited that the IRI (International Reference Ionosphere) model had a better NmF2 prediction when the photoionization was dominant during the polar day, but worse when the electron precipitation was dominant during the polar night. We showed that the electrons in lower energy band decreased when the geomagnetic disturbance went greater, which resulted in the lower NmF2. By analyzing the spectrum of precipitation electron under different geomagnetic conditions, it was found that this phenomenon was induced by the energy flux enhancement of precipitation electron of low energy.