A Global Thermospheric Density Model Based on Satellite Accelerometer Data.

Abstract : Measurements from the accelerometer experiments on four low-altitude satellites (S3-1 and Atmosphere Explorer-C, -D, and -E) have been combined to produce an empirical model of the neutral mass density from 140 to 240 km. Data from over a 8000 orbits are analyzed using the least-squares method of multiple linear regression. The resulting model gives density as a function of solar flux (for flux values 60 to 130 units), geomagnetic activity, day of year, local time, latitude and altitude. It provides a more accurate fit to the measured data than other available atmospheric models. Three commonly used models are evaluated by comparison of their predicted density variations with those of this empirical model. (Author)