SA44B - Ionospheric model validation for user applications: developments in metrics, datasets, and methods I oral

A broad range of user applications are crucially reliant or affected by the state of the ionosphere; as such, the modeling and correction of these impacts is subsequently highly sensitive to the choice of ionospheric representation. There are now dozens of ionospheric models that have been developed by the community with varying degrees of maturity and availability; however, we still lack an understanding of whether these models meet the basic needs of radio propagation and other users. This is an opportunity for community members to share their ideas and proposals for how best to conduct comprehensive model testing in an environment with diverse modeling methodologies and user interests. This session seeks contributions covering advances in validation studies using metrics relevant to user applications, such as HF communications, Over-the-Horizon Radar, GNSS, and scintillation modeling. Contributions highlighting current coordinated model validation efforts or new methodologies are especially encouraged.