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Simultaneous measurements of midlatitude thermospheric winds at 105° W and 79° W longitude
Author(s) -
Hernandez G.,
Sipler Dwight P.,
Biondi Manfred A.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl005i011p00935
Subject(s) - thermosphere , longitude , middle latitudes , zonal and meridional , atmospheric sciences , latitude , meridional flow , environmental science , sky , physics , ionosphere , geology , meteorology , geodesy , geophysics
Simultaneous measurements of neutral winds from the Doppler shifts of the 15867 K (630. nm) emission of the night sky have been made at two midlatitude stations separated by about 26° in longitude and less than 1° in latitude (39.8° N, 105.5°W and 40.13° N, 79.16°W). Comparison of the measured winds show strong local time correlation and negligible universal time correlation, in particular for meridional winds. This behavior is expected for the thermosphere for solar‐minimum, magnetically quiet conditions, when the strongest pressure forces driving the winds are caused by insolation. The results also show the basic assumption of longitudinal or zonal averaging of two‐dimensional thermospheric models to be correct for at least the 26° longitudinal separation between the two stations.