Multi-quasi-parabolic ionosphere model with EF-valley

We improve the conventional multi-quasi-parabolic (MQP) model and develop two MQP models with EF-valley by applying the predicted EF-valley parameter of the newest version of the International Reference Ionosphere. On the basis of the conventional MQP model and these two improved MQP models with EF-valley, we generate one-hop oblique sounding ionograms between Wuhan and Beijing. Comparisons between the generated ionograms and the sounding ionogram in the experiments illustrate that the improved MQP models are more suitable for describing the true ionosphere than the conventional MQP model is. In contrast to the conventional MQP model, the improved MQP models can increase the accuracy of ray tracing and reduce the errors in shortwave single location and over-the-horizon-radar registration.