Global mapping of ionospheric HF/VHF radio wave absorption due to solar energetic protons

Simple, one‐parameter algorithms are applied to the observed energetic proton flux as provided by instruments aboard the GOES series of satellites to yield estimates of the high‐latitude HF and VHF radio wave absorption for day and night, respectively. These results are extended to full daily coverage by treating the effects of solar illumination, geomagnetic cutoff variation, and frequency dependence over the entire earth. Validation calculations of the polar cap absorption of HF radio waves have been performed for 11 larger solar energetic particle events during the period from 1992 to 2002 and the results are compared to observations of 30 MHz riometers operated by the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory and located at Thule, Greenland. Prediction of the minimum event duration from current flux level is also obtained, and a specimen presentation of the north and south polar caps illustrates the graphical output of the model for the peak of the 6 December 2006 solar proton event.