The comparison of incoherent scatter data with IRI-2001 in East-Siberian region Original Research Article

The paper deals with the comparison of observations by the Irkutsk incoherent scatter radar (ISR) during the period of 1998–2003 with predictions of the International Reference Ionosphere model, IRI-2001. For the comparison, we used data for only magnetically calm days (Kp ⩽ 4). Our study showed: (1) good agreement between IRI and ISR data during the equinoxes for the electron density Ne, electron temperature Te and ion temperatures Ti; (2) during daytime hours in summer the model overestimates the measured electron densities by 30–50% and underestimates the electron temperatures by 400–800 K, in winter, on the other hand, the model predictions of electron density are lower by 15–25% and are larger than the measured electron and ion temperatures; (3) during winter the radar shows a night enhancement in Ne at predawn, while the model predicts a weak enhancement near midnight.