Abstract
The effects of mutual diffusion between O and N2 are examined for diurnal and semidiurnal tidal oscillations in the thermosphere. A binary gas extension of a previous f plane equivalent gravity wave formalism is developed and utilized to study this effect. Compared with calculations that omit O‐N2 mutual diffusion, diffusive interaction affects the temperatures and horizontal velocities associated with the diurnal thermospheric tide excited in situ by less than 10% with negligible shifts in phase, and by roughly 20–40% the semidiurnal tide excited in situ, and the (2, 2) and (2, 4) modes propagating from the mesosphere, accompanied by 1‐ to 4‐hour shifts in phase. These results affect the interpretation of incoherent scatter measurements of thermospheric tides and the construction of synthesized tidal models that are calibrated by the measurements and suggest that the inequality of the vertical transport velocities of O and N2 be accounted for in three‐dimensional numerical models of semidiurnal thermospheric tides.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
