Upper thermosphere winds and temperatures in the geomagnetic polar cap: Solar cycle, geomagnetic activity, and interplanetary magnetic field dependencies
Authors: Killeen T. L. , Won Y.‐I. , Niciejewski R. J. , Burns A. G. 
Published: February 2004

Ground‐based Fabry‐Perot interferometers located at Thule, Greenland (76.5°N, 69.0°W, Λ=86°) and at Søndre Strømfjord, Greenland (67.0°N, 50.9°W, Λ=74°) have monitored the upper thermospheric (∼240‐km altitude) neutral wind and temperature over the northern hemisphere geomagnetic polar cap since 1983 and 1985, respectively. The thermospheric observations are obtained by determining the Doppler characteristics of the (O I) 15,867‐K (630.0‐nm) emission of atomic oxygen. The instruments operate on a routine, automatic, (mostly) untended basis during the winter observing seasons, with data coverage limited only by cloud cover and (occasional) instrument failures. This unique database of geomagnetic polar cap measurements now extends over the complete range of solar activity. We present an analysis of the measurements made between 1985 (near solar minimum) and 1991 (near solar maximum), as part of a long‐term study of geomagnetic polar cap thermospheric climatology. The measurements from a total of 902 nights of observations are compared with the predictions of two semiempirical models: the vector spherical harmonic (VSH) model of Killeen et al. (1987) and the horizontal wind model (HWM) of Hedin et al. (1991). The results are also analyzed using calculations of thermospheric momentum forcing terms from the thermosphere‐ionosphere general circulation model (TIGCM) of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The experimental results show that upper thermospheric winds in the geomagnetic polar cap have a fundamental diurnal character, with typical wind speeds of about 200 m s−1 at solar minimum, rising to up to about 800 m s−1 at solar maximum, depending on geomagnetic activity level. These winds generally blow in the antisunward direction, but are interrupted by episodes of modified wind velocity and altered direction often associated with changes in the orientation of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). The central polar cap (>∼80 magnetic latitude) antisunward wind speed is found to be a strong function of both solar and geomagnetic activity. The polar cap temperatures show variations in both solar and geomagnetic activity, with temperatures near 800 K for low Kp and F10.7 and greater than about 2000 K for high Kp and F10.7. The observed temperatures are significantly greater than those predicted by the mass spectrometer/incoherent scatter model for high activity conditions. Theoretical analysis based on the NCAR TIGCM indicates that the antisunward upper thermospheric winds, driven by upstream ion drag, basically “coast” across the polar cap. The relatively small changes in wind velocity and direction within the polar cap are induced by a combination of forcing terms of commensurate magnitude, including the nonlinear advection term, the Coriolis term, and the pressure gradient force term. The polar cap thermospheric thermal balance is dominated by horizontal advection, and adiabatic and thermal conduction terms.