MODELING CRITICAL FREQUENCY OF IONOSPHERE D-LAYER AT MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM OF THE SOLAR CYCLE 22WITH IRI-2016

One of the interests of the study of the ionosphere lies in its importance for the transmission of radio waves in telecommunications. The ionospherebehaves as an obstacle to the passage of waves. Thus, the signals of short wavelengths are reflected by the F layer or the upper part of the sublayer E, while theD-layeris the seat of the reflection of low-frequencywaves. The presentstudyinvestigates the temporal variability of the criticalfrequency of the D-layer (for) using the 2016 version of the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model under quiet day conditions during at maximum and minimum phase of solar cycle 22. The workisconductedat the Ouagadougou station, located in West Africa. The methodology of the workadopted for the determination of the parameter foDisbased on the calculation of the monthlyhourlyaverages of this variable obtainedwith the help of the model during the monthsthatcharacterize the seasons. The resultsobtained for the parameter for as a function of time during the minimum and maximum of the solar cycle 22 have been presented. The seasonal and temporal variations of the criticalfrequency of the ionosphereD-layer show that the foD values are lower during a minimum of the solar cycle and present maximum values at the Zenith (1200 TL) at a minimum and maximum. Theseresultsalsorevealthatthisparameter varies with time, season, and geographical position. The results of thisstudy show a criticalfrequencybelow 1 MHz during both phases of the solar cycle.