Thermospheric mass density variations during the March 2015 geomagnetic storm from GRACE accelerometers

Empirical air density models are indispensable to study the thermosphere-ionosphere physical processes, but the current accuracy is insufficient to predict the variability as efficiently required. Nowadays, the Low-Earth-Orbit satellites with carrying accelerometers, e.g., Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), provide a unique chance to estimate thermospheric air mass density. In this paper, thermospheric air mass densities for the March 2015 geomagnetic storm are derived from GRACE accelerometers and their mean-per-orbit values are parameterized in terms of solar flux (F10.7), solar wind merging electric field (E
_m
), and geomagnetic Ap index. The results are contrasted to the NRLMSISE-00 empirical model and a clear deviated estimation has been found.