Dependence of thermospheric zonal winds on solar flux, geomagnetic activity, and hemisphere as measured by CHAMP

摘要

The thermospheric zonal winds measured by the CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload (CHAMP) satellite are used to statistically determine the climatology under quiet and active geomagnetic conditions. By collectively analyzing the bin-averaged wind trend with F_(10.7) and the solar-induced difference in wind structures, the solar flux dependence of global thermosphere zonal wind is determined. The increase of solar flux enhances the eastward winds at low latitudes from dusk to midnight. The increased ion drag reduces the nighttime eastward wind in the subauroral latitudes, and the daytime westward winds from 06 to 08 MLT at all latitudes decrease with increasing solar flux. Zonal winds show coupled seasonal/extreme ultraviolet (EUV) dependency. The equatorial zonal winds from 18 to 04 magnetic local time (MLT) indicate weaker eastward winds during the June solstice at high solar flux levels. Quiet time eastward winds at subauroral latitudes from 16 to 20 MLT are further decreased in the winter hemisphere. Influenced by asymmetries in solar illumination and the magnetic field, zonal winds show hemispheric asymmetries. Quiet daytime winds are additionally influenced by solar illumination effects, and the westward winds at the middle and subauroral latitudes are always stronger in the summer. The nighttime eastward winds are higher in the winter hemisphere during the solstices, as in the Southern Hemisphere during equinoxes, with the winter-summer asymmetry lessened or receding at the solar maxima. Storm-induced subauroral westward disturbancewinds are higher in the summer hemisphere and in the Northern Hemisphere during equinoxes. At a high level of solar flux, the westward disturbance winds are comparable in the two hemispheres during December solstice. Geomagnetic disturbance wind observations from CHAMP agree well with the empirical geomagnetic disturbance wind model, except for stronger subauroral westward jets. Westward winds during the afternoon may be enhanced in t