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Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Worldwide Hourly Values of Ionospheric Characteristics: foF2, M(3000)F2, hF2,FoF1, M(3000)F1, hF, FoE, hE, foE2, hE2, foEs, fbEs, fmI, and FxI

The ionosphere is that part of the Earth's atmosphere that results mainly from the ionizing effect of Solar electromagnetic radiation. For poleware latitudes, the ionizing effect of incident energetic particles is also significant. Traditionally, the following ionospheric regions and their approximate height ranges have been designated: D region (60-90 km); E region (90-150 km); F1 region (150-250 km); and F2 region (above 250 km). Ionosondes utilize the radio wave-reflecting properties of the ionosphere. The product of the speed of light in a vacuum and half the elapsed time between vertical transmission of a single frequency electromagnetic wave and reception of the reflected wave at the transmitting location is defined as the virtual height of that frequency. A sweep-frequency ionogram is a plot of virtual height versus frequency and is recorded as nearly instantaneously as possible. These ionospheric data consists mainly of hourly values for at least one to a maximum of all of the following ionospheric characteristics (parameters). They are foF2, M(3000)F2, hF2, foF1, M(3000)F1, hF, foE, hE, foE2, hE2, foEs, fbEs, hEs, fmI, and fxI. The values are five byte (character) fields. The first three bytes of the field are reserved for a numeric value; the last two bytes are reserved for the qualifying and descriptive letter, if present. There are no decimals encoded in these data. Documentation is supplied with each data order. Data are archived on CDROM, optical disk, and magnetic tape. There are two CD-ROM's sold as a set. One contains 1957 - 1975 data; the other contains 1976-1990 data. The CDROM contains ASCII files and runs on DOS-compatible machines. A catalog, which lists the contents of the CDROM data set, is available via anonymous FTP.ngdc.noaa.gov and GOPHER.ngdc.noaa.gov in the /STP/IONOSPHERE/CATALOG directory. Additional data are available, but have not yet been put on CDROM. Data are also available on magnetic tape and IBM compatible diskette.
Cite this dataset when used as a source.
  • ID not available.
gov.noaa.ngdc.stp.ionosonde:G00004
Other Access
Distribution Formats
  • ASCII
Ordering Instructions Ordering Instructions: Price information is available upon request. Prepay by check, money order or bank card There is a standard handling charge, with additional costs for special handling. Orders may be placed via fax, email, regular mail or telephone Custom Order Process: Contact data center for information
Distributor Justin Mabie
Space and Terrestrial Weather Specialist
DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
(303) 497-6135
Justin.Mabie@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact Justin Mabie
Space and Terrestrial Weather Specialist
DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
(303) 497-6135
Justin.Mabie@noaa.gov
Time Period 1942-01-01 to Present
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West: -180.000000
East: 180.000000
South: -90.000000
North: 90.000000
Spatial Coverage Map
Documentation links not available.
Publication Dates
  • publication: 1973-01-01
Edition First
Dataset Progress Status Under development - data is currently in the process of being created
Data Update Frequency Monthly
Supplemental Information
Observing station type: Solar-Terrestrial Observatory. Data collection type: Network. Number of sites: 59 observatories. Processing: These data are archived by year in the following order: year, ionospheric station, month, ionospheric characteristic, followed by the hourly values of the ionospheric characteristic for all days of the month and then by the monthly statistical data (median data) for that ionospheric characteristic. Moved to Purgatory 9-17-2010
per Rob Redmon. This record is a duplicate of G01257. Keh
Purpose Ionospheric Research
Use Limitations
  • Disclaimer While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.
Originators
  • DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC > National Geophysical Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Publishers
  • NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
  • DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC > National Geophysical Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Theme keywords NASA/GCMD Earth Science Keywords
  • EARTH SCIENCE > Solar-terrestrial Interactions > Ionosphere/Magnetosphere Particles > Particle Density
Uncontrolled Keywords
  • Ionosonde
  • Ionospheric Parameters
Data Center keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
  • DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
  • DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC > National Geophysical Data Center, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Place keywords NASA/GCMD Location Keywords
  • Global
Project keywords Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Project Keywords
  • ICSU-WDS > International Council for Science - World Data System
Use Constraints
  • Use Constraints: None
Access Constraints
  • Access Constraints: No Constraints
Fees
  • Depends on the Data Set
Lineage information for: repository
Processing Steps
  • 2015-04-22T00:00:00 - NOAA created the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) by merging NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), and National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), including the National Coastal Data Development Center (NCDDC), per the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, Public Law 113-235. NCEI launched publicly on April 22, 2015.
Last Modified: 2015-09-18
For questions about the information on this page, please email: Justin.Mabie@noaa.gov