Research Article

Solar Spectral Proxy Irradiance from GOES (SSPRING): a model for solar EUV irradiance

¹ Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
² Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO 80305, USA
³ Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
⁴ National Centers for Environmental Information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO 80305, USA

^* Corresponding author: Marty.Snow@lasp.colorado.edu

Received: 28 April 2015
Accepted: 3 January 2016

Abstract

Several currently operating instruments are able to measure the full EUV spectrum at sufficient wavelength resolution for use in upper-atmosphere modeling, the effects of space weather, and modeling satellite drag. However, no missions are planned at present to succeed the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) and Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) missions, which currently provide these data sources. To develop a suitable replacement for these measurements, we use two broadband EUV channels on the NOAA GOES satellites, the magnesium core-to-wing ratio (Mg II index) from the SOlar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) as well as EUV and Mg II time averages to model the EUV spectrum from 0.1 to 105 nm at 5-nm spectral resolution and daily time resolution. A Levenberg-Marquardt least squares fitting algorithm is used to determine a coefficient matrix that best reproduces a reference data set when multiplied by input data. The coefficient matrix is then applied to model data outside of the fitting interval. Three different fitting intervals are tested, with a variable fitting interval utilizing all days of data before the prediction date producing the best results. The correlation between the model results and the observed spectrum is found to be above 95% for the 0.1–50 nm range, and between 74% and 95% for the 50–105 nm range. We also find a favorable comparison between our results and the Flare Irradiance Spectral Model (FISM). These results provide a promising potential source for an empirical EUV spectral model after direct EUV measurements are no longer available, and utilize a similar EUV modeling technique as the upcoming GOES-R satellites.