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Mean meridional winds in the mid‐ and high‐latitude summer mesosphere
Author(s) -
Nastrom G. D.,
Balsley B. B.,
Carter D. A.
Publication year - 1982
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/gl009i002p00139
Subject(s) - zonal and meridional , mesosphere , meridional flow , latitude , mean flow , atmospheric sciences , geology , zonal flow (plasma) , flow (mathematics) , middle latitudes , climatology , meteorology , geodesy , stratosphere , turbulence , mechanics , physics , plasma , quantum mechanics , tokamak
We examine the mean meridional flow in the summer upper mesosphere using data from the Poker Flat MST radar and all other available stations. The observed mean flow is equatorward at about 10‐15 ms −1 near 60°N, about an order of magnitude larger than expected from numerical model results. The Rayleigh friction coefficient required to balance the coriolis torque associated with this flow is about 4 days −1 , about ten times larger than values currently used in numerical models.