In situ and remote sensing of thermospheric winds during the energy budget campaign

Abstract This paper summarizes the dynamical information obtained in the lower thermosphere during the Energy Budget Campaign, by three experimental techniques: rocket-borne falling spheres instrumented with accelerometers and Tri-Methyl-Aluminium (TMA) trails, and from a ground-based Fabry-Perot interferometer. Winds of 200–400 m/sec, accelerated by the momentum and energy inputs from the magnetosphere, were observed during the ‘B’ and ‘A2’ salvos (15/16 Nov 1980 and 30 Nov/1 Dec resp.), with perturbations as low as 100 km altitude during the ‘B’ salvo. A global model has been used to simulate the wide-scale consequences of these disturbances, and to aid estimation of the integrated energy and momentum inputs.