All empirical models of the ionosphere electron density profile rely, among other parameters, on the efficient description of the thickness of the F2 layer that controls the profile shape. Considering the trend towards data assimilation in such models to give near real time 3D specification of the electron density, the efficiency of such description becomes particularly important. This paper discusses the thickness parameters of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) and NeQuick2 empirical models and their effects on the modeled electron density profiles by comparing them with experimentally derived profiles. A simple technique to optimize the use of experimental data to forecast electron density specifications is proposed. It is based on the previous output of the assimilation of NmF2, hmF2, with the addition of the experimentally computed thickness parameters of the IRI and NeQuick models. This technique appears to be able to forecast reasonably well the electron density profile at least 30 min ahead of a given epoch. The possible use of such electron density profile forecast, for applications in HF radio waves propagation is suggested.

除其他参数外，电离层电子密度分布的所有经验模型都依赖于控制分布形状的 F2 层厚度的有效描述。考虑到这种模型中数据同化的趋势，以提供近乎实时的电子密度 3D 规范，这种描述的效率变得尤为重要。本文讨论了国际参考电离层 (IRI) 和 NeQuick2 经验模型的厚度参数及其对模拟电子密度剖面的影响，将它们与实验得出的剖面进行比较。提出了一种优化使用实验数据来预测电子密度规格的简单技术。它基于之前输出的 NmF2、hmF2、加上实验计算的 IRI 和 NeQuick 模型的厚度参数。这种技术似乎能够在给定时期之前至少 30 分钟合理地预测电子密度分布。建议将这种电子密度分布预测用于 HF 无线电波传播中的可能用途。