Abstract

A meteor wind station has been constructed in Jamaica (18°N, 77°W), West Indies, and neutral winds in the altitude range 80–110 km measured for 24 hours at approximately weekly intervals from March 1971 to February 1972. A total of 13,000 individual meteor echoes have been analysed, including nearly 3,000 which have enabled a ±5 km height estimate to be made from the echo decay rate. A least squares fourier analysis has been carried out on the data averages, and the prevailing wind and first six harmonic components extracted. Very high wind speeds, well in excess of 100 m/s, have been observed to occur almost continuously, except during the Spring. These high velocities often show a characteristic sudden onset and evidence has been obtained that they are associated with strong oscillations of about 4 h period. The diurnal tide usually dominates the oscillatory wind spectrum. This oscillation shows evidence of a 15 km vertical wavelength during the Spring and there is a clear indication that the oscillatory wind energy diminishes with increasing height in the meteor zone. The prevailing meridional winds show a seasonal variation in good agreement with the general circulation based on rocket measurements, and agreement in the case of the zonal component, though poor during late Winter and Spring, is satisfactory for the remainder of the year.

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