Updating IRI Model Using Vertical Sounding and GIM TEC Data and Its Application for the Ekaterinburg HF Radar Data Simulation

We test a technique for region-based updating IRI-family ionosphere models using vertical sounding (VS) and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) data. As input parameters we used critical frequencies (foF2) obtained at VS stations located in the Ekaterinburg HF radar (EKB; 56.4°N, 58.5°E) field-of-view (FOV) and total electron content (TEC) from CODE global ionospheric maps (GIMs). Updated vertical profiles of electron density are used to simulate HF ground backscatter (GB) in the framework of waveguide approach. We compare simulated HF ground backscatter range-time-intensity (RTI) with observed one by the EKB HF radar to test effectiveness of various updating schemes.