Global Climatology of Meridional Winds in the Thermosphere

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9320449 Miller This award is for the continued development and scientific application of a method whereby the component of the neutral wind along a magnetic meridian can be derived from existing ground-based measurements of the height of the F2 layer. The meridional wind is derived by a comparison of the modeled layer height with the measured height. This method can produce results comparable with other methods, such as Fabry-Perot interferometry and incoherent- scatter radar, and has the advantage that measurements of the height of the F2 layer are already being made routinely and systematically on a global scale. The strength and variability of the meridional wind is of major importance to the understanding of the energetics and composition of the Thermosphere and Ionosphere. It is perhaps the most influential free parameter in thermosopheric photochemical models. This study will increase our understanding of the magnitude and variability of the meridional wind by providing global wind values during measurement campaigns and by organizing the results into a climatological description of thermospheric dynamics. ***