VTEC observations of intense geomagnetic storms above Nepal: comparison with satellite data, CODE and IGSG models

In this article, we analyze vertical total electron content (VTEC) over Nepal for 4 periods: March 14–25, 2015, June 18–29, 2015, May 24–June 4, 2017, and September 3–14, 2017. In each period, there are quiet geomagnetic days and intense geomagnetic stormy days. The VTEC observed during these periods has observed both positive and negative ionospheric storms. We compared VTEC Receiver-Independent Exchange Format (RINEX) observations with the Global Ionospheric Map (GIM), Centre for Orbit Determination in Europe (CODE), and IGS working group (IGSG). We found in RINEX observation of the VTEC a noon bite out profile with predominance of morning and afternoon peaks and a nighttime peak, but this was not noticeable clearly with CODE and IGSG models. The comparison between RINEX TEC, CODE, and IGSG models shows that the GIM model does not estimate RINEX VTEC over Nepal. The disagreement between VTEC CODE/IGSG and VTEC RINEX is important during geomagnetically quiet periods, while there is good agreement between VTEC CODE/IGSG and VTEC RINEX during strong geomagnetic storms. We also find a greater disagreement between the models and the data at the equinoxes when the VTEC is larger. It is, therefore, necessary to introduce data from Nepal stations into the models CODE and IGSG in order to improve them