Comparison of topside electron density computed by ionospheric models and plasma density observed by DMSP satellites

Electron density obtained by IRI (topside options NeQuick and IRI-Corr) and NeQuick models in their standard versions have been compared with plasma density values measured by F13 and F15 DMSP satellites for years of different solar activities. A statistical study of the differences between modeled and experimental data has been carried out to investigate each model performance.In general, the models present a similar behavior. Nevertheless it has been found that the IRI-Corr topside option of IRI overestimates electron density at high latitudes and this trend increases with the solar activity.A few examples of representative half-orbit passes are given to illustrate the differences found.