THERMOSPHERIC TIDES AT EQUINOX - SIMULATIONS WITH COUPLED COMPOSITION AND AURORAL FORCINGS .1. DIURNAL COMPONENT

Thermospheric tidal components calculated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research thermospheric general circulation model have been revised by including the effects of self-consistent composition couplings and auroral processes. Calculations are presented for equinox conditions at solar cycle minimum and maximum. The diurnal neutral winds and perturbation temperatures predicted by the model are compared with radar observations and the MSIS-86 model at low, mid, and high latitudes. Sensitivity tests indicate that the feedback between composition and dynamics effects the diurnal tidal temperature amplitudes up to 50% and the diurnal winds by about 15%. The calculated phases are within an hour of uncoupled composition calculations. Auroral processes dominate the diurnal waves at high latitudes, where the wind amplitudes may be double or triple those calculated for solar forcing only. The high-latitude energy and momentum sources must be included in the model formulations in order to reproduce observations of the September 1984 Equinox Transition Study exospheric temperatures.