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The three-dimensional Global Plasmasphere Ionosphere Density (GPID) model simulates the global-scale dynamics of the magnetic field-aligned ion and electron densities within the plasmasphere and plasmatrough (L⩽9) by simultaneously modeling the field-aligned plasma density distributions of several thousand magnetic flux tubes distributed uniformly about the Earth. GPID uses a dynamical diffusive equilibrium approach within each magnetic flux tube that allows it to model the temporal variations in H+ and O+ densities, the dominant ions in the topside ionosphere and plasmasphere. Using the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) to model the ionosphere and a simple electron density profile above the ionosphere in the polar regions (L>9), GPID is able to simulate electron densities globally from ground level to an altitude of ∼50,000 km . Comparisons of GPID predictions with (1) direct plasmaspheric observations obtained from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites equipped with Global Position System (GPS) receivers, (2) ground-based radio beacon measurements using the Applications Technology Satellite 6 (ATS-6) satellite and (3) several empirical plasmasphere models, show good agreement. This good agreement indicates the value of the GPID model as a tool for investigating the physics of the inner magnetopshere. |
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