Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Dynamics of the Antarctic and Arctic mesosphere and lower thermosphere – Part 1: Mean winds

• Main Authors: C. L. Beldon, R. E. Hibbins, N. J. Mitchell
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Antarctic; Arctic; Esrange; Mak; Rothera; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.664.7438; http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/10/10273/2010/acp-10-10273-2010.pdf

Abstract. Zonal and meridional winds have been measured in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere at polar lat-itudes using two ground-based meteor radars. One radar is located at Rothera (68 ◦ S, 68 ◦ W) in the Antarctic and has been operational since February 2005. The second radar is located at Esrange (68 ◦ N, 21 ◦ E) in the Arctic and has been operational since October 1999. Both radars have produced relatively continuous measurements. Here we consider mea-surements made up to the end of 2009. Both radars are of similar design and at conjugate geographical latitudes, mak-ing the results directly comparable and thus allowing inves-tigation of the differences in the mean winds of the Antarctic and Arctic regions. The data from each radar have been used to construct climatologies of monthly-mean zonal and merid-ional winds at heights between 80 and 100 km. Both Antarc-