Abstract
The solar radio flux at 10.7 cm, known as F10.7, is a critical
operational space weather index. However, without a clear backup, any
interruption to the service can result in substantial errors in model
outputs. In this paper we show the impact of one such outage in March
2022 and present a number of alternative solutions for any future
outages. The approach resulting in the smallest reconstruction error of
F10.7 uses the solar radio flux observations at alternative wavelengths
(the best giving a percentage error of 3.1%). Alternatively, use of
Sunspot Number, a regular, robust alternative observation, results in a
mean percentage error of 8.2% and is also a reliable fallback solution.
Additionally, analysis of the error on the use of the conversion between
the 12-month rolling sunspot number (R12) and its conversion to F10.7 as
used by the IRI is included.