Brief Description:
The model describes the ionospheric electron density as a function of latitude,
longitude, time, season, and solar radio flux. The topside is represented by a
parabola and three exponential profile segments, and the bottomside by a
bi-parabola. The model is based on about 50,000 Alouette topside ionograms
(1962-1966), 6,000 Ariel 3 in situ measurements (1967- 1968), and 400,000
bottomside ionograms (1962-1969). For the F2-peak the CCIR maps are used. The
model has been widely used for ionospheric refraction corrections in satellite
tracking. It does not include the lower layers (D, E, F1) and uses a simple
quadratic relationship between CCIR's M(3000)F2 factor and the height of the
F2-peak. A comparison between the Bent model and the IRI model and their application for satellite orbit
determination was discussed by Bilitza et al. (1988). IRI showed better results
because of the more detailed representation of the bottomside density
structure.
Availability:
- Model description on microfiche (NSSDC-ID: MI-91G) from NSSDC Request Office
- FORTRAN code from National Geophysical Data Center (ftp://ftp.ngdc.noaa.gov/STP/IONOSPHERE/MODELS/BENT/)
References:
R. B. Bent, S. K. Llewellyn, and P. E. Schmid, A Highly Successful Empirical
Model for the Worldwide Ionospheric Electron Density Profile, DBA Systems,
Melbourne, Florida, 1972.
R. B. Bent, S. K. Llewellyn, and M. K. Walloch, Description and Evaluation of
the Bent Ionospheric Model, DBA Systems, Melbourne, Florida, 1972.
(B26740 PDF)
R. B. Bent, S. K. Llewellyn, and P. E. Schmid, Ionospheric Refraction Corrections in Satellite Tracking, Space Research XII, 1186-1194, Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, 1972.
P. Schmid, R. B. Bent, S. K. Llewellyn, G. Nesterczuk, and S. Rangaswamy, NASA-GSFC Ionospheric Correction to Satellite Tracking Data, Goddard Space Flight Center, Report X-591-73- 281, Greenbelt, Maryland, 1973.
S. K. Llewellyn and R. B. Bent, Documentation and Description of the Bent Ionospheric Model, Air Force Geophysics Laboratory, Report AFCRL-TR-73-0657, Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts, 1973. (PDF)
D. Bilitza, K. Rawer, and S. Pallaschke, Study of Ionospheric Models for Satellite Orbit Determination, Radio Sci. 23, 223, 1988.
Go to the Ionospheric Models index Go to the Space Physics Models page
NASA Official: Dr. Robert McGuire, Head of the Space Physics Data Facility