Auroral ionospheric conductivities: a comparison between experiment and modeling, and theoretical f_10.7-dependent model for EISCAT and ESR

Abstract. Several authors have published models of auroral conductances in the past. Some of them are based on theoretical approaches; others are the result of observations. The data bases for the latter models range from 8 h to 3 years of experiments. In this paper, we show the results of our own modeling, based on a coupled ki- netic/fluid approach. We compare these results to the sta- tistical model based on 3 years of experiment. We then model the auroral ionospheric conductances above EISCAT and the EISCAT-Svalbard Radar for different solar-activity indices. These modeled conductances are fitted with a simple law depending on the f_10.7 index and on the solar zenith angle.