The seasonal behavior of high‐latitude thermospheric winds and ion velocities observed over one solar cycle

Abstract

The seasonal variation of nighttime thermospheric winds observed at Kiruna has been found to be significantly dependent on solar activity. Of particular interest is the observation that there is a large difference between the March and September equinox winds, despite similar levels of solar insolation. The September equinox winds are more December solstice‐like. The average March equinox meridional winds are up to 70% larger than for September. The existence of an equinoctial asymmetry has not been predicted by either thermospheric or ionospheric model simulations, which assume that the equinoxes are fundamentally the same, and use forcing functions which are symmetric about the solstices. The average ion velocities measured at EISCAT are larger during the March equinox than the September at solar maximum, while the converse is true at solar minimum. In contrast, the March equinox nighttime thermospheric winds are larger for both solar maximum and solar minimum. Furthermore, the asymmetry is greater at solar maximum.