Study on the Adaptability of the Empirical Storm-time Ionospheric Correction Model STORM in China Region

Based on the ionospheric f0F2 data from 9 ionosonde stations in China region during a solar activity cycle from 1976 to 1987, the level and the distribution characteristic of the ionospheric storms along seasonal bins and geomagnetic latitudes are statistically investigated. It is found that the small and medium level storms occur more frequently in spring and autumn and the frequencies in different seasonal bins have relationship with the geomagnetic latitudes. A comparison between the storm-time predicted f0F2 values and the monthly median ones shows that the median model can be improved effectively by the STORM model except in winter. It is important of adding Chinese storm-time data and enhancing the prediction accuracy in winter to improve the STORM model. And developing an appropriate storm-time index to predict f0F2 is a key point in the future.