Author: Karl Magnus Laundal

Updated version of AMPS

We have released a new version of the AMPS model, based on a larger dataset than previous versions: More than 30 million vector measurements made by the CHAMP and Swarm satellites between 2000 and 2021.

Here are updated versions of the figures from the model paper using the new model coefficients.

 

The figures were produced using a new version of the Python module pyAMPS, which can be found at https://github.com/klaundal/pyamps. It can be installed with pip:  pip install pyamps

Hemispheric asymmetries

Seasonal variations in the ionospheric currents are different in the north and the south.
Seasonal variations in the ionospheric currents are different in the north and the south. Winter currents in the south are not the same as the winter currents in the north

The model allows for comparisons between hemispheres at unprecedented accuracy. We have used this capability to show that the seasonal variations in the ionospheric currents are different in the two hemispheres. This result was presented at the Swarm science meeting in Banff, Canada, in March 2017.

The presentation was highlighted in  an ESA press release (Swarm detects asymmetries)