Premium
On divergences of thermospheric meridional winds at midlatitudes
Author(s) -
Hernandez G.,
Roble R. G.
Publication year - 1979
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/gl006i004p00294
Subject(s) - thermosphere , zonal and meridional , middle latitudes , ring current , earth's magnetic field , atmospheric sciences , geomagnetic storm , meridional flow , storm , climatology , latitude , ionosphere , geology , geophysics , physics , meteorology , magnetic field , geodesy , quantum mechanics
The existence of large scale (300 m/s) divergences, or convergences, of the meridional wind field is shown to be a common feature of the thermosphere at night during geomagnetic quiet times. This finding weakens the arguments used to invoke energetic neutral‐atom precipitation at low and midlatitudes to explain the divergence in the meridional wind during the geomagnetic storm of April 1, 1976. For this storm it is also shown that the maximum time rate of change of D st is accompanied by a maximum value of the AE index, thus indicating that energy is flowing into the high latitude thermosphere as well as into the magnetospheric ring current.