T3.1: Multi-station validation — Millstone Hill

[w2naf]

Description

Add Millstone Hill, MA (MIT Haystack Observatory) as a third validation reference station. This is particularly relevant since Haystack is a co-author institution on the original ionosonde poster.

Requirements

• Retrieve Millstone Hill Digisonde data from GIRO (URSI code: MHJ45, verify)
• Build a time-aligned paired dataset (same approach as T1.4: Time-aligned comparison dataset #4)
• Compute validation metrics (bias, RMSE, r, N) for both sounding frequencies
• Add to multi-station comparison table (now 3 stations):
  • Alpena, MI (~900 km from W2NAF)
  • Wallops Island, VA (~350 km from W2NAF)
  • Millstone Hill, MA (~350 km from W2NAF)
• Analyze whether agreement correlates with distance

Acceptance Criteria

• Millstone Hill GIRO data retrieved and processed
• Validation metrics computed
• Three-station comparison table complete
• Distance-dependence discussion written

Timeline

• Start: May 18, 2026
• Due: May 29, 2026
• Milestone: NSF CEDAR 2026
• Depends on: T1.3: GIRO data retrieval module #3, T1.4: Time-aligned comparison dataset #4, T2.4: Multi-station validation — Wallops Island #10

Context

Phase 3 of Track 1. The three-station comparison strengthens the validation for the CEDAR audience. See plans/track1-workplan.md.