Summary
This paper discusses the need for a global network of meteor wind stations for determining the general circulation of the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere. Continuous observations of horizontal motions from such a network would permit resolution of planetary scale eddy winds, tides, and gravity waves, and hypotheses that such motions propagate vertically from the lower atmosphere or are generated in situ by solar activity could be examined critically with observational data. The observed mean winds from the lower stratosphere to the meteor wind level are summarized to support the hypothesis that a standing wave pattern in the winds extends into the lower thermosphere. Data on tidal meridional momentum transports from meteor wind stations suggest that tides in the lower thermosphere are important for the maintenance of mean winds. Some of the geomagnetic and photochemical processes in the lower thermosphere that could be investigated with meteor wind data are briefly reviewed.
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This paper is adapted from our presentation at the 1966 Fall URSI meeting at Palo Alto, California
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Newell, R.E., Dickinson, R.E. On the application of a proposed global system for measuring meteor winds. PAGEOPH 68, 162–172 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00874892
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00874892