Comparison of Empirical Magnetopause Location Models with Geosynchronous Satellite Data

In this study, we identify 307 the geosynchronous magnetopause crossing (GMC) using geosynchronous satellite observation data from 1996 to 2010 as well as make an observational test of magnetopause location models using the identified events. For this, we consider three models: Petrinec and Russell (1996), Shue et al. (1998), and Lin et al. (2010). To evaluate the models, we estimate a Probability of Detection (PoD) and a Critical Success Index (CSI) as a function of year. To examine the effect of solar cycle phase, we consider three different time periods: (1) ascending phase (1996-1999), (2) maximum phase (2000-2002), and (3) descending phase (2003-2008). Major results from this study are as follows. First, the PoD values of all models range from 0.6 to 1.0 for the most of years. Second, the PoD values of Lin et al. (2010) are noticeably higher than those of the other models. Third, the CSI values of all models range from 0.3 to 0.6 and those of Shue et al. (1998) are slightly higher than those of the other models. Fourth, the predicted magnetopause radius based on Lin et al.(2010) well match the observed one within one earth radius, while that on Shue et al. (1998) overestimate the observed one by about 2 earth radii. Fifth, the PoD and CSI values of all the models are better for the solar maximum phase than those for the other phases, implying that the models are more optimized for the phase.