F2-layer height of the peak electron density (hmF2) dataset employed in Inferring Vertical Plasma Drift – Data of Best fit

In this data article, analysis of the height of the peak electron density (hmF2) data, used to compute the vertical plasma drift (Vz) velocities during year 2010, was reported. The station of focus is Ilorin, a station in the African equatorial region. The hmF2 data used for the Vz computation was obtained from the Global Ionospheric Radio Observatory (GIRO) network of ionosondes, using the Digital Portable Sounder erected at the Equatorial Ionospheric Observatory of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. Vz velocities were determined from the time rate of change of hmF2. Four categories of hmF2 data intervals for determining the drift were analysed and compared for reliable computation of Vz. This are the measured 15-minute, the calculated 30-minute, the calculated 60-minute, and the directly selected 1-hour interval datasets. The calculated 60-minute interval data was found more reliable than others, satisfying the three significant events that characterized vertical drift observations. These are the evening time pre-reversal enhancement, the daytime pre-noon upward drift, and the nighttime downward reversal periods. The observations from this data will help Space weather scientists and researchers in identifying the best fit of hmF2 data in the computation of drift velocity. The original work which has been published in Adebesin et al. (2013) [1] had made use of this calculated 60-minute interval hmF2 data, but the process/procedures of its selection as the best fit of data interval was not explained in that work.