New Swarm-C thermospheric densities compared to physical and empirical model estimates

What is it about?

This paper provides a detailed comparison of the Swarm-C density data with empirical and physics based upper atmospheric models. Using multiple performance metrics, this work provides insight into the data and model performance, and the strengths and weaknesses of the various performance metrics and visualisations of the statistics.

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Photo by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash

Photo by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Swarm is a new satellite constellation equipped with accelerometers through whcih highly precise thermospherics mass densities can be derived. This paper compares accelerometer-derived Swarm-C densities with three widely used upper atmospheric models. The comparison at the satellite's temporal resolution provides a useful evaluation of the models' fidelity for orbit prediction and pertinent space weather forecasting applications. The results of this study show that the short‐timescale variations observed by Swarm‐C during periods of high solar and geomagnetic activities were better captured by the physics‐based model than the empirical models. The paper also provides key physical insights into helium’s influence during a solar maximum period on the TIE-GCM model. The paper is a significant contribution to the upper atmospheric model validation endeavours.

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