Analysis of high-altitude rocket electron and ion density measurements suggests a simple model of the quiet ionosphere. Near hmaxF2 the profile is given by the ‘α-Chapman’ function, i.e. the Chapman electron density equation with sec χ = 1 and the ‘scale height’ H a constant. A method is given for determining hmaxF2, NmaxF2 and H from N(h) data obtained from ionograms. Well above the peak, the profile is taken to have a constant exponential slope of 200 km during the day and 150 km during the night. If simultaneous nearby measurements of the total electron content are available, a more accurate slope can be computed, thus providing the profile up to about 1000-km altitude.
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J. Carl Seddon (1963) studied this question.
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