Variations of Neutral Winds in the Lower Thermosphere at Middle Latitudes during Solar Minimum Equinox Conditions

Physics

Scientific paper

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3369 Thermospheric Dynamics (0358), 3389 Tides And Planetary Waves, 3394 Instruments And Techniques

Scientific paper

Data obtained by the Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar (42.6N, 288.5E) during the September 1-30, 2005 campaign were analyzed in order to determine the characteristics of variations in horizontal neutral winds in the altitude range of 100-136 km. A large difference is found between the average September 2005 winds and the average fall equinox winds from earlier campaigns, with both zonal and meridional components having higher tidal amplitudes in the September campaign. This difference might be related to interannual variability. The dominant signal in both zonal and meridional winds is the semidiurnal component, as expected from tidal theory and previous experimental data, but diurnal tides are also significant at altitudes 100-120 km. Fitting with 12-h and mean components produces semidiurnal tides with maximum amplitude of ~70 m/s for the zonal wind and ~60 m/s for the meridional wind, which is higher than earlier average results. Fitting with 12-h, 24-h and mean components reduces the amplitude of semidiurnal tide by ~20 m/s and introduces ~1 hour shift in its phase. The amplitude of the diurnal tide reaches ~40 m/s for the zonal wind and ~50 m/s for the meridional wind, while the phase structure indicates that the diurnal tide is formed in-situ. Mean winds show a significant altitude gradient in both zonal and meridional components. Large variations in the dominant tidal modes are observed from day to day, with the semidiurnal tide disappearing on several occasions.

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