A comparison of quiet time thermospheric winds between FPI observations and model calculations

The observations are from three Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPIs), the empirical model is the most recent version of the Horizontal Wind Model 14 (HWM14), and the numerical model is the Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model of the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

The three FPI stations are located at Xinglong (geographically 40.2 degrees N, 117.4 degrees E; geomagnetically 35 degrees N) and Kelan (geographically 38.7 degrees N, 111.6 degrees E; geomagnetically 34 degrees N) in China and at Millstone Hill (geographically 42.6 degrees N, 71.5 degrees W; geomagnetically 52 degrees N) in United States. The results show that the winds at Millstone Hill are more southward and more westward than those at Xinglong and Kelan in all seasons; the directional reversal time of zonal winds is also earlier at Millstone Hill than at the other two stations.