Comparison of peak characteristics of the F2 ionospheric layer obtained from the Cyprus Digisonde and IRI-2012 model during low and high solar activity period

We investigate first the climatology expressed by diurnal and seasonal variations of the critical frequency (foF2) and the peak height (hmF2) of the F2-layer derived from digital ionosonde measurements at the low-middle latitude European station in Nicosia, Cyprus (geographical coordinates: 35°N, 33°E, geomagnetic lat. 29.38°N, I = 51.7°). Monthly median hourly values of the F2-layer peak characteristics are obtained using manually scaled data during the 5-year period 2009-2013. The observational results are then compared with the International Reference Ionospheric Model (IRI-2012) predictions using both URSI and CCIR coefficients. It is shown that the semi-annual pattern of daytime foF2 characterized by higher values at equinoxes than either solstices as well as the winter anomaly phenomenon demonstrate strong solar activity dependence. An annual pattern of night-time foF2 is also detected with lower values in winter and higher in summer. The seasonal variation of daytime hmF2 is evident and peaks of hmF2 at pre-sunrise and post-sunset hours are identified during December. The IRI-2012 model is capable to capture the main diurnal and seasonal patterns of foF2 and hmF2. The highest overestimation of daytime foF2 is noted at equinoxes and solstices except from March, October, December of 2011, and June of 2013. Significant foF2 underestimation is observed at evening and after midnight during February and March of 2009. Large positive discrepancies between the modeled and observed hmF2 values are noticed during the deep solar minimum year 2009. Overall, IRI-model estimates are more accurate for hmF2 than foF2 over Cyprus and for the examined period.