On the fast movements of the thermosphere: an interpretation

• Published in: Annales Geophysicae
• Main Authors: J. Lilensten, P. O. Amblard
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2000
• Subjects: Science; Q; Physics; QC1-999; Geophysics. Cosmic physics; QC801-809; Tourbillons; EISCAT
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00585-001-1651-8; https://doaj.org/article/c29b36814f8049dc9a310c31e16d0e78

We examine the oscillations of the meridional neutral wind in the F region as seen by the EISCAT radar. We propose an interpretation in term of eddies ( tourbillons ) of typical size of a few tens to a few hundreds of kilometers. The observed rotation velocity is a few hundreds of meters per second. We suggest that the tourbillons are a common feature of thermospheric movements. We propose an optical experiment to check the validity of this assumption. Key words: Atmospheric composition and structure (thermosphere · composition and chemistry) · Ionosphere (ionosphere · atmosphere interactions)