The evolution of the DGR approach to model electron density profiles

The paper describes the evolution of the “profiler” proposed by Di Giovanni and Radicella (1990) to calculate the electron density distribution with height up to the F2 peak based on the Epstein layer introduced originally by Rawer. Such model uses ionospheric characteristics routinely scaled from ionograms or models of such characteristics. Radicella and Zhang (1995) presented an improved version of the profiler able to give the electron density distribution on both the bottom and topside of the ionosphere and the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) by introducing a constant shape factor for the semi-Epstein layer above the F2 peak. This version of the DGR model was adopted by the European COST 238 action as the basis for its regional model of the ionosphere. Further efforts were made to improve the topside part of the profiler by taking into account the contribution of the plasmaspherie electron density. The three separate solutions that have been implemented are described. One of them was adopted by the European COST 251 as basis for its regional ionospheric model. Another one developed partially with European Space Agency (ESA) support has been adopted in the ESA European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System project ionospheric specifications. A modified version of this profiler has been implemented to forecast TEC values over Europe as a joint effort with the CLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the United Kingdom and the Geophysical Institute, Sofia, Bulgaria.