Evidence for direct solar control of the mesopause dynamics through dayglow and radar measurements

Abstract. The day-to-day measurements of the daytime intensities of hydroxyl (OH) Meinel (8-3) band airglow emissions at 731.6 and 740.2nm carried out from the equatorial station Thiruvananthapuram (8.5° N, 76.5° E, 0.5° dip) during the period of January-March 2001 have been investigated. This investigation provides evidence for the presence of a long period (≈16 days) wave modulating these intensities at the mesopause altitudes. Simultaneous radar measurements of zonal wind at ~87km, i.e. mesopause from Tirunelveli (8.7° N, 77.8° E, 0.33° dip), a location nearby, also reveal the presence of these long period oscillations. The daytime airglow and zonal wind undergo changes simultaneously. Similar modulations are seen in the solar 10.7cm flux also preceding dayglow and wind variabilities by 4-5 days. It is inferred in the present case that the changes in the solar flux are the cause of the generation of this long period wave in the atmosphere below the mesosphere. The oscillations in the measured dayglow intensities in the mesopause region and the winds at ~87km are resulting from the modulation caused by this wave in this region after a delay of 4-5 days.