Assessment of Thermospheric Models during the Geomagnetic Storm Times in NASA/CCMC CAMEL Framework

This paper is a follow-up study after Bruinsma et al. (2021, doi: 10.1051/swsc/2021002), which assesses the performance of empirical and physics-based thermosphere models during geomagnetically storm times. Thermospheric models available at the NASA Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) are unbiasedly evaluated in this study, which include the CTIPe, DTM2013 and DTM2020, GITM, JB2008, NRLMSIS 2.0, TIE-GCM, and WACCM-X. Neutral density from model simulations during given storm event is first divided into four phases (pre-storm, main, recovery, and post-storm) with respect to the time of minimum Dst. This is followed by evaluating the model performance by comparing the model datasets to the drag-derived neutral density, including CHAMP, GOCE, and GRACE within each phase. The performance of space weather modeling during storm main and recovery phases for several selected geomagnetically storm events is presented in this talk.

Metrics of the neutral density, such as mean density ratios and standard deviation, are also utilized in the Comprehensive Assessment of Models and Events using Library Tools (CAMEL) framework developed by the CCMC. Utilizing the model validation in CAMEL can facilitate the model-data comparison to users and establish access to scorecards with consistent and identical metrics, which can help users select the best models for their objective. All data stored in CAMEL are publicly accessible via APIs/webservice calls. Original data files submitted for the validation campaign are also stored in a public repository. This demonstration can pave the way for comprehensive model validation in the future that also support the open science initiative.