A Comparison of Tidal Theory with Lower Thermospheric Wind Observations,
Abstract
The wind in the lower thermosphere is generally considered to be composed of prevailing, tidal and gravity wave components. However the observations of the wind, primarily from meteor trail and vapor trail drifts, are available at only a few locations and in the case of vapor trail drifts, only during the night hours. Because of the heterogeneous nature of the data, it has not been possible to definitely specify the contribution of each of these components to the total wind. In an attempt to improve the interpretation of the observations, tidal winds are computed from theory. To do this, the effects of dissipation and excitation in the thermosphere must be considered. In this work, the effects of heat conductivity and the absorption of solar radiation in the thermosphere are added to the tidal theory. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1971
- Accession Number
- AD0732669
Entities
People
- E. S. Batten
Organizations
- RAND Corporation