Interhemispheric distinctions in wind-regime parameters in the polar mesosphere-lower thermosphere

Abstract

The wind circulations in the mesosphere-lower thermosphere at polar latitudes of the Northern and Southern hemispheres are compared on the basis of long-term monthly-mean data on the prevailing zonal and meridional winds and on the parameters of diurnal and semidiurnal migrating tides obtained from the international network of radar stations. Comparison of the seasonal cycles and vertical profiles of the prevailing winds and tide parameters points to the existence of significant distinctions between the hemispheres. These distinctions are most clearly pronounced, first, in the prevailing meridional winds (for example, the annual mean winds in the polar regions have opposite directions in different hemispheres) and, second, the annual cycles of semidiurnal-tide amplitudes, as well as the character of changes in the tide phase with height, are fundamentally different for the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Along with these, significant distinctions are revealed in the prevailing zonal winds and in the diurnal-tide parameters.