Articles | Volume 37, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-37-1-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-37-1-2019
Regular paper
 | 
11 Jan 2019
Regular paper |  | 11 Jan 2019

Connection between the length of day and wind measurements in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere at mid- and high latitudes

Sven Wilhelm, Gunter Stober, Vivien Matthias, Christoph Jacobi, and Damian J. Murphy

Data sets

MLS/Aura Level 2 Geopotential Height V004 V. Matthias https://mls.jpl.nasa.gov/

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Short summary
This study shows that the mesospheric winds are affected by an expansion–shrinking of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere that takes place due to changes in the intensity of the solar radiation, which affects the density within the atmosphere. On seasonal timescales, an increase in the neutral density occurs together with a decrease in the eastward-directed zonal wind. Further, even after removing the seasonal and the 11-year solar cycle variations, we show a connection between them.