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Impact of HIWIND balloon measurements on thermospheric density models
Author(s) -
Moe Kenneth,
Wu Qian
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1002/2013ja019390
Subject(s) - thermosphere , quiet , atmospheric sciences , altitude (triangle) , ionosphere , latitude , physics , geophysics , geology , geodesy , astronomy , geometry , mathematics
The recent HIWIND (High‐Altitude Interferometer Wind Observations) balloon measurements have revealed persistent equatorward winds in the dayside thermosphere during geomagnetically quiet times. Although this result does not agree with some current thermospheric density models, it is consistent with an earlier thermospheric density model (M1975) which includes the energy input through the magnetospheric dayside cusps during geomagnetically quiet times. We show the thermospheric density distribution with and without the magnetospheric input to illustrate the effect of the density gradient on the winds at high latitudes. We review the early history of the development of our understanding of the energy input to the high‐latitude thermosphere. Future HIWIND measurements can add to our understanding and lead to improved models of thermospheric densities and winds.