# Ionospheric Science: An Example of the Importance of Diversity in Approaches to Scientific Research
## 5 Summary  
Contemporary ionospheric research spans a spectrum of scientific activities starting with curiosity-driven research and ending with the application of research outcomes to practical problems. The former includes many research challenges such as the need to understand how Earth's ionosphere is coupled to other physical entities as discussed in previous sections. Today, these studies of Earth's ionosphere are complemented by studies of other ionospheres within the solar system, in particular Mars, for which we now have a wealth of ionospheric observations, and more generally studies of partially ionised plasmas across the universe. Earth's ionosphere is the most accessible example of this important class of astrophysical plasmas. The application of ionospheric science to practical problems focuses on radio signal propagation through the ionosphere. This is a wide field because of the great variety of systems that must consider ionospheric propagation and the range of frequencies that those systems use. These range at least from VLF systems working at frequencies of tens of kHz, where signals propagate in the natural waveguide between the Earth's surface and ionosphere, up to S-band systems working at frequencies of 2-3 GHz, where ionospheric scintillation can distort signal propagation. A detailed discussion of those systems is well beyond the scope of this paper, so we just highlight their variety, and hence their sensitivity to a wide range of ionospheric features. Thus, the application of ionospheric science requires a wide and detailed understanding of the ionosphere. These two boundary cases of curiosity-driven research and of applications of research outcomes are linked by two other research activities, namely targeted research and R2O/O2R activities. In the case of targeted research, funding agencies define the research goals after a dialogue between scientists and potential users of research outcomes, but those goals still require cutting-edge research. This is a critical stage in refining research to the point where one can identify specific applications. The need for such targeted research is typical of a mature environment science; we know the basics, but not the details, and those details are crucial to the delivery of societal value from research. In the case of R20 and O2R, it is vital to establish, and fund, processes that facilitate interactions between researchers and service providers. Most obvious here is the need to facilitate the migration of forecast and nowcast models from research to operational environments, with all that implying high-quality management of software. The advent of cloud-based environments is providing a new and exciting basis for that migration to occur, not least of which because it strongly supports distributed working between science and operations teams based at different locations. Thus, contemporary ionospheric research requires a diversity of approaches in a way that it is supported and carried out. Figure 1 provides an outline of how ideas might flow in that diverse culture, including the feedback that can drive a virtuous circle that can stimulate further progress in the science and its application. The need for diversity is increasingly recognised at an international level, e.g., through discussions on European [37] and global [56; 57; 58; 59] coordination of space weather activities. Those reports also provide a call-to-arms for national efforts that can encourage and sustain those diverse approaches, whilst also stimulating, and benefiting from, improved international coordination and cooperation. The author encourages colleagues around the world to engage with these international efforts and, thus, advance our science. **Funding:** I acknowledge support provided by STFC, including partial support from Grant ST/ M001083/1. **Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable. **Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable. Figure 1: An outline of how ideas might flow in a diverse scientific culture as discussed in this paper.