A Global Study of Meridional Winds in the Thermosphere

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This proposal is a joint submission from Utah State University and the University of Alabama in Huntsville for the application of a new technique developed under previous NSF support to determine neutral meridional thermospheric winds from ground based measurements of the height of the ionospheric F2 layer. The knowledge of the global wind system in the upper atmosphere is basic to understanding the transport of heat and minor chemical constituents from high latitudes to low and from dayside to nightside, and for predicting the propagation characteristics of the ionosphere for radio waves and microwave communication with spacecraft. The combination of resources and skills from the two institutions will lead to a particularly strong study.