Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufmsa23b..01f&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #SA23B-01
Physics
[3369] Atmospheric Processes / Thermospheric Dynamics, [3389] Atmospheric Processes / Tides And Planetary Waves
Scientific paper
Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of upward-propagating tides to the dynamics and electrodynamics of the ionosphere-thermosphere system. For the neutral atmosphere, most information has originated from TIMED measurements below 120 km and CHAMP measurements near 400 km, and little is known about the evolution of the tidal spectrum in-between, and especially above the primary dissipation region of 120-150 km. This paper analyzes some rare satellite accelerometer measurements in the height range of 170-240 km in this context. The U.S. Air Force flew Satellite Electrostatic Accelerometer (SETA) experiments that took geophysically useful data during March 1979, May-November 1982, July 1983 - March 1984, and were capable of measuring in-track densities and cross-track winds. The satellites were in 1030/2230 LT sun-synchronous near-circular orbits around a mean altitude of 200 km. Only the large-scale density variability, particularly the longitude variability, associated with solar thermal tides equatorward of 50 degrees latitude is addressed here. [The density variability at higher latitudes tends to be dominated by auroral polar processes and effects.] The ~10-day mean density structures are characterized by fluctuations about the mean of order 15%, and often appear as wave-2, -3, and -4 structures with respect to longitude. These tidal density structures are compared with similar measurements made by the CHAMP and GRACE accelerometers at the same local times, but at higher altitudes and during different epochs. Similar comparisons are made with density perturbations extrapolated upwards using a combination of TIMED measurements below 110 km and dissipative tidal theory. Our understanding of the evolution of tidal structures is scrutinized based on these comparisons.
Forbes Jeffrey M.
Oberheide Jens
Zhang Xinyu
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