International Reference Ionosphere: An operational tool for space weather applications

The International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model, developed as a joint project of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) and the International union of Radio Science (URSI), is a widely used standard for ionospheric parameters, and is currently undergoing registration with the International Standardization Organization (ISO) as a technical specification. IRI is an empirical model representing a synthesis of the available and reliable ground and space data recorded for the ionosphere. Being an international project, the IRI model has been validated with a large volume of ionospheric data by researchers and data from all parts of the world. We will describe the latest version of the model and the most important recent improvements and new features. In addition we will also briefly discuss modeling efforts that are now underway with the goal of future IRI updates. A special focus of this presentation will be the many space weather related applications of the IRI model highlighting some of the user feedback.