东亚MLT区域平均纬向风再评估——WINDII测量分析结果

本文利用1991年11月至1997年8月期间美国WINDII/UARS获得的风场测量数据对东亚上空纬向风进行考察. 研究结果给出了位于120°E 子午圈中90～120 km之间平均纬向风的典型结构及其季节特征,与在武汉开展流星雷达探测结果进行比较的结果说明卫星测量分析结果在对季节特征的描述方面与地基测量有相当好的一致性;较好的一致性还表现在与过去从HRDI/UARS数据中得到的月平均纬向风. 这些说明卫星探测结果有相当好的代表性. 与国际标准大气CIRA-86月平均纬向风开展比较的结果显示,从100 km高度开始这两种卫星数据分析结果都与CIRA-86结果表现出严重偏离,例如在赤道和低纬度地区某些高度,CIRA-86纬向风在全年的大部分时段中表现出与卫星数据分析结果风向不一致. 分析结果还显示WINDII纬向风和HRDI纬向风分析结果之间表现出一个幅度约20 m·s^-1的系统偏差,考虑到本文分析过程中采用了通过归并36天测量数据来消除周日变化影响的方案,同时参考其他研究工作中对MLT纬向风周日潮幅度的描述,两种卫星数据分析结果之间的系统偏差可能部分来自大气潮汐的影响.     

Observations of 7-d planetary waves with MLT radars and the UARS-HRDI instrument

Long period variations in the mesosphere wind have been observed for some time by ground-based radars. These planetary scale disturbances have reoccurring periods at or near 5–7, 10, and 16 days and at times dominate the wind field at mesospheric heights. Recently, due to the continuous operation of several of the MLT radars and the availability of measurements from the UARS satellite, it has been possible to compare observations during periods of large planetary wave activity. Wind measurements from four MLT radars; the meteor radars at Durham, NH (43°N,71°W) and Sheffield, UK (53°N,2°W) and MF radars at Urbana, IL (40°N,88°W) and Saskatoon, Canada (52°N,107°W) were compared with the HRDI measurements during intervals when 7-d planetary waves were present. Wind data from the HRDI instrument on UARS has been processed to show the latitudinal structure and the seasonal variation of the planetary scale wind variation. The phases and amplitudes of the waves as determined by both the satellite and the radars are in good agreement. The ground-based measurements show large modulation of tides by these long period components, and also show comparable responses of these low frequency components over thousands of kilometers. The satellite and the ground-based results both indicate a preponderance of wave occurrence during the equinoxes and at preferred latitudes.     

Intercalibration of HRDI and WINDII wind measurements

The High Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI) and the Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII) instruments, which are both on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, measure winds by sensing the Doppler shift in atmospheric emission features. Because the two observation sets are frequently nearly coincident in space and time, each provides a very effective validation test of the other. Discrepancies due to geophysical differences should be much smaller than for comparisons with other techniques (radars, rockets, etc.), and the very large sizes of the coincident data sets provide excellent statistics for the study. Issues that have been examined include relative systematic offsets and the wind magnitudes obtained with the two systems. A significant zero wind position difference of 6 m s^–1 is identified for the zonal component, and it appears that this arises from an absolute perturbation in WINDII winds of -4 m s^–1 and in HRDI of +2 m s^–1. Altitude offsets appear to be relatively small, and do not exceed 1 km. In addition, no evidence is found for the existence of a systematic wind speed bias between HRDI and WINDII. However, considerable day-to-day variability is found in the quality of the agreement, and RMS differences are surprisingly large, typically in the range of 20-30 m s^–1.     

Comparisons between Canadian prairie MF radars, FPI (green and OH lines) and UARS HRDI systems

Detailed comparisons have been completed between the MF radars (MFR) in the Canadian prairies and three other systems: two ground-based Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPI) and the UARS high resolution Doppler imager (HRDI) system. The radars were at Sylvan Lake (52°N, 114°W), Robsart (49°N, 109°W) and the main continuing facility is at Saskatoon (52°N, 107°W). Statistical comparisons of hourly mean winds (1988–1992) for the Saskatoon MFR and FPI (557.7 nm green line) using scatter plots, wind speed-ratios, and direction-difference histograms show excellent agreement for Saskatoon. No serious biases in speeds or directions occur at the height of best agreement, 98 km. If anything, the MFR speeds appear bigger. The same applies to the Sylvan Lake MFR and Calgary FPI, where the best height is 88 km. In both cases these are close to the preferred heights for the emission layers. Differences between measurements seen on individual days are likely related to the influence of gravity waves (GW) upon the optical and radar systems, each of which have inherent spatial averaging (350, 50 km respectively), as well as the spatial difference between the nominal measurement locations. For HRDI, similar statistical comparisons are made, using single-overpass satellite winds and hourly means (to improve data quality) from MFR. Heights of best agreement, based upon direction-difference histograms, are shown; there is a tendency, beginning near 87 km, for these MFR heights to be 2 or 3 km greater than the HRDI heights. Speeds at these heights are typically larger for the satellite (MFR/HRDI = 0.7-0.8). Reasons for the differences are investigated. It is shown that the estimated errors and short-term (90 min) differences are larger for HRDI than for the MFR, indicating more noise or GW contamination. This leads to modest but significant differences in median speed-ratio (MFR/HRDI < 1). Also, comparison of the two systems is made under conditions when they agree best and when they show large disagreement. For the latter cases both systems show higher relative errors, and the HRDI vectors are frequently small. It is suggested that spatial or temporal GW wind fluctuations are the likely cause of the larger HRDI-MFR disagreement when wind speeds are small. No satisfactory explanation exists for the overall discrepancy is speeds between the MFR and HRDI.     

Common-volume measurements of mesospheric winds: 2. Small scale structure implications

Two common volume experiments were conducted in August 1996 and July 1997 between the Durham meteor wind radar (43.1°N, 70.9°W) and the Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar, (42.6°N, 71.5°W) to compare the techniques in measuring neutral winds at an altitude of 100 km. For this comparison the vertical winds are assumed to be zero and only the horizontal components of the radar line of sight velocities are used. Analysis of the data reveals overall general agreement, but some large deviations in the wind components are observed at specific times and these are examined closely. Error analysis of the radar measurements is presented here, and emphasis is placed on the careful delineation of the effect of spatial variations in the wind field observed by the two radars. Since the spatial resolution of both radars is<3 km both horizontally and vertically, some of the three dimensional properties of the horizontal wind component can be estimated. For the incoherent scatter radar with its narrow steerable beam, the spatial location of the sampling points could be chosen; however, finer sampling of the wind field results in more temporal smearing due to the fixed measurement time for each point. For the meteor radar the spatial sample points occur randomly within the system beam since they depend on the chance location of observed meteor trails. Both systems spatially undersample the wind field in most cases, but with careful consideration of the system errors for both radars, it is shown that small scale (∼10 km) wind variations must exist at these altitudes with rms velocity differences of ∼25 m/s.     

Latitudinal and longitudinal variability of mesospheric winds and temperatures during stratospheric warming events

Continuous MF and meteor radar observations allow detailed studies of winds in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) as well as temperatures around the mesopause. This height region is characterized by a strong variability in winter due to enhanced planetary wave activity and related stratospheric warming events, which are distinct coupling processes between lower, middle and upper atmosphere. Here the variability of mesospheric winds and temperatures is discussed in relation with major and minor stratospheric warmings as observed during winter 2005/06 in comparison with results during winter 1998/99.Our studies are based on MF radar wind measurements at Andenes (69°N, 16°E), Poker Flat (65°N, 147°W) and Juliusruh (55°N, 13°E) as well as on meteor radar observations of winds and temperatures at Resolute Bay (75°N, 95°W), Andenes (69°N, 16°E) and Kühlungsborn (54°N, 12°E). Additionally, energy dissipation rates have been estimated from spectral width measurements using a 3 MHz Doppler radar near Andenes. Particular attention is directed to the changes of winds, turbulence and the gravity wave activity in the mesosphere in relation to the planetary wave activity in the stratosphere.Observations indicate an enhancement of planetary wave 1 activity in the mesosphere at high latitudes during major stratospheric warmings. Daily mean temperatures derived from meteor decay times indicate that strong warming events are connected with a cooling of the 90 km region by about 10–20 K. The onset of these cooling processes and the reversals of the mesospheric circulation to easterly winds occur some days before the changes of the zonal circulation in the stratosphere start indicating a downward propagation of the circulation disturbances from the MLT region to the stratosphere and troposphere during the stratospheric warming events. The short-term reversal of the mesospheric winds is followed by a period of strong westerly winds connected with enhanced turbulence rates and an increase of gravity wave activity in the altitude range 70–85 km.     

A comparison between mesospheric wind measurements made near Christchurch (44°S, 173°E) using the high resolution doppler imager (HRDI) and a medium frequency (MF) radar

We report on the comparison of winds measured by a medium frequency (MF) radar near Christchurch, New Zealand, and by the high resolution doppler imager (HRDI). Previous comparisons have demonstrated that there can be significant differences in the winds obtained by the two techniques, and our results are no different. However, these data show relatively good agreement in the meridional direction, but large differences in the zonal direction, where the radar is regularly measuring the zonal wind as too easterly. To do the comparison, overpasses from the satellite must be obtained when it is close to the radar site. The radar data are averaged in time around the overpass because we know the radars sample phenomena which have spatial and temporal scales which make them invisible to HRDI. There are a limited number of overpass comparisons which limit our confidence in these results, but a detailed analysis of these data show that the proximity of the overpass is often an important factor in the differences obtained. Other factors examined include the influence of the local time of the overpass, and the amount of radar data averaged around the overpass time.     

MF radar observations of mean winds over Yamagawa (31.2°N, 130.6°E) and Wakkanai (45.4°N, 141.7°E)

Continuous MF radar measurements of mesospheric mean winds are in progress at the observatories in Yamagawa (31.2°N, 130.6°E) and Wakkanai (45.4°N, 141.7°E). The observations at Yamagawa and Wakkanai were started in August 1994 and September 1996, respectively. The real-time wind data are used for the study of major large scale dynamic features of the middle atmosphere such as mean winds, tides, planetary waves, and gravity waves, etc. In the present study of mean winds, we have utilized the data collected until June 1999, which include the simultaneous observation period of little more than two and a half years, for the two sites. The database permits us to draw conclusions on the characteristics of mean winds and to compare the mean wind structure over these sites. The mean prevailing zonal winds at both sites are dominated by westward/eastward motions in summer/winter seasons below 90 km. Meridional circulation at meteor heights is generally southward during most times of the year and it extends to lower mesospheric heights during summer also. The summer westward jet at Wakkanai is consistently stronger than those at Yamagawa. However, the winter eastward winds have identical strength at both locations. Meridional winds also show larger values at Wakkanai. The mean wind climatology has been examined and compared with the MU radar observations over Shigaraki (34.9°N, 136.1°E). The paper also presents the results of the comparison between the MF radar winds and the latest empirical model values (HWM93 model) proposed by Hedin et al. (1996. Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Physics 58, 1421–1447). Hodograph analyses of mean winds conducted for the summer and winter seasons show interesting similarities and discrepancies.     

北京MST雷达探测中间层-低热层观测结果初步分析

北京MST雷达是子午工程建设的国内仅有的两部MST雷达之一,为研究其在中间层-低热层MLT区域的探测能力以及数据可靠性,本文应用北京MST雷达2012、2013两年高模式数据,从数据获取率、与廊坊流星雷达测风对比以及风场时空分布特征三个方面进行初步分析.结果是:(1)数据获取率日变化特征为:白天65~100km均可获取数据,数据获取率的高值区主要集中在70~80km,最大值可达80%;夜间主要集中在80~100km,数据获取率在30%及以下.表明该MST雷达白天可以探测到电离层D层和E层低层,夜间D层消失,只探测到E层低层.季节变化特征为:夏季白天可获取数据的时间和高度区间都比较大,春季次之,冬季最小.夏季白天以及日落后1h内可探测到120km.(2)对北京MST雷达与廊坊流星雷达2012年5月份、80~100km高度区间测量的水平风进行对比分析,二者测风结果在时空分布上有很好的一致性,表明MST雷达探测数据是可靠的.(3)2012年和2013年相应月份平均的纬向风、经向风时空分布特征有较高的一致性,并与HWM07模式结果也基本一致.上述初步分析结果表明,北京MST雷达对中间层-低热层60~120km高度区域已具备较强的探测能力,所得结果将可用于MLT过程揭示与驱动因子研究,并可与该高度上其他探测手段作综合研究.     

Thermal tides and studies to tune the mechanistic tidal model using UARS observations

Monthly simulations of the thermal diurnal and semidiurnal tides are compared to High-Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI) and Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII) wind and temperature measurements on the Upper-Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). There is encouraging agreement between the observations and the linear global mechanistic tidal model results both for the diurnal and semidiurnal components in the equatorial and mid-latitude regions. This gives us the confidence to outline the first steps of an assimilative analysis/interpretation for tides, dissipation, and mean flow using a combination of model results and the global measurements from HRDI and WINDII. The sensitivity of the proposed technique to the initial guess employed to obtain a best fit to the data by tuning model parameters is discussed for the January and March 1993 cases, when the WINDII day and night measurements of the meridional winds between 90 and 110 km are used along with the daytime HRDI measurements. Several examples for the derivation of the tidal variables and decomposition of the measured winds into tidal and mean flow components using this approach are compared with previous tidal estimates and modeling results for the migrating tides. The seasonal cycle of the derived diurnal tidal amplitudes are discussed and compared with radar observation between 80 and 100 km and 40° S and 40°N.     

Semidiurnal tides from the extended Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (CMAM) and comparisons with TIMED Doppler interferometer (TIDI) and meteor radar observations

The extended Canadian Middle Atmosphere Model (extended CMAM) is a general circulation model, which extends from the surface to about 210 km. Spatial complex spectral analysis is applied to horizontal winds simulated by the extended CMAM to obtain semidiurnal tidal amplitudes and phases (from e5 to w5) in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region. The dominant w2 migrating component and the presence of eight nonmigrating tides (w3, w4, w5, e1, e2, e3, e4 and e5) in the mid-latitudes are identified. Components w1 and s0, which tend to maximize at high latitudes, will be discussed separately in a later paper. The migrating semidiurnal tide (w2) has amplitudes reaching over 20 m s⁻¹ for both zonal and meridional winds in the mid-latitude region. Its form compares well to the published results. The amplitudes of nonmigrating semidiurnal tides are non-negligible compared with the migrating semidiurnal tides. The amplitudes for w3 and e2 exceed 12 and 8 m s⁻¹, respectively.Comparisons are made with four nonmigrating semidiurnal components (w3, w4, e1 and e2) derived from the TIMED Doppler interferometer (TIDI) wind measurements between 85 and 105 km altitude and between 45°S and 45°N latitude. Overall, the basic CMAM and TIDI latitudinal structures of the amplitudes agree well and the agreement between the annual mean amplitudes varies with component. Relative to the TIDI results, the CMAM seasonal variations of w4 are in good agreement, of e2 are in reasonable agreement, of w3 are in partial agreement and of e1 are in poor agreement.The 11 semidiurnal components from the model are superimposed to generate the total semidiurnal winds at Jakarta (6°S, 106°E) and Kototabang (0°, 100°E) and are compared with measurements from two equatorial meteor radar stations at these sites. The relative contributions of components to the reconstructed amplitude vary from month to month. The CMAM reconstructions are generally larger than the radar results by a factor varying between one and two. The phases in the radar data are typically stationary with respect to height, whereas they generally decrease with height in the CMAM reconstruction.     

Global empirical wind model for the upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere. I. Prevailing wind

An updated empirical climatic zonally averaged prevailing wind model for the upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere (70/110 km), extending from 80°N to 80°S is presented. The model is constructed from the fitting of monthly mean winds from meteor radar and MF radar measurements at more than 40 stations, well distributed over the globe. The height-latitude contour plots of monthly mean zonal and meridional winds for all months of the year, and of annual mean wind, amplitudes and phases of annual and semiannual harmonics of wind variations are analyzed to reveal the main features of the seasonal variation of the global wind structures in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Some results of comparison between the ground-based wind models and the space-based models are presented. It is shown that, with the exception of annual mean systematic bias between the zonal winds provided by the ground-based and space-based models, a good agreement between the models is observed. The possible origin of this bias is discussed.     

Long-term tendencies in the MLT prevailing winds and tides over Antarctica as observed by radars at Molodezhnaya,Mawson and Davis

Long-term tendencies in horizontal neutral wind parameters in the southern polar mesosphere/lower thermosphere are presented. The wind data analyzed were obtained from meteor and MF radars situated at Molodezhnaya (45.9°E, 67.7°S), Mawson (62.9°E, 67.6°S) and Davis (78.0°E, 68.6°S). The composite dataset covers years from 1970 to 2006. A Bayesian approach in the form proposed by Wang and Zivot [2000. A Bayesian time series model of multiple structural changes in level, trend and variance. Journal of Business and Economic Statistics 8, 374–386] is used for the trend assessment. This approach allows structural breaks to be identified in the trend parameters (slope, mean or variance of residuals) or demonstrates their absence. The results of our analysis have shown persistence through such structural breaks in trends of the winter and summer prevailing winds and in meridional tidal components. It is demonstrated that the wind parameters exhibit different stable states with transitions between the states. Correlations between the southern polar MLT wind and indices of atmospheric variability (Northern annular mode, Southern annular mode, Multivariate El-Niño/Southern Oscillation Index) were then considered. The results show that statistically significant correlations exist during some periods of observations that do not exist during others.     

Meteor wind radar observations of tidal amplitudes over a low-latitude station Trivandrum (8.5°N, 77°E): Interannual variability and the effect of background wind on diurnal tidal amplitudes

Based on the horizontal winds measured using SKiYMET meteor wind radar during the period of June 2004–May 2007, the seasonal and interannual variability of the diurnal and semidiurnal amplitudes and phases in the mesospheric and lower thermospheric (MLT) region over a low-latitude station Trivandrum (8.5°N) are investigated. The monthly values of amplitudes and phases are calculated using a composite day analysis. The zonal and meridional diurnal tidal amplitudes exhibit both annual and semiannual oscillations. The zonal and meridional components of semidiurnal tide show a significant annual oscillation. The phase values of both diurnal and semidiurnal tides exhibit annual oscillation above 90 km. The effect of background wind in the lower atmosphere on the strength of diurnal tidal amplitudes in the MLT region is studied. The effect of diurnal tides on the background wind in the lower thermosphere is also discussed.     

Common-volume measurements of mesospheric winds using radar and optical instruments: 1. Comparison of observations

The Millstone Hill incoherent scatter radar (42.6°N, 71.5°W) and the nearby Durham meteor wind radar (43.1°N, 70.9°W) have been used to study the structure of the winds in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere and to investigate the propagation of tidal components from the mesosphere into the lower thermosphere. In general, good agreement is found between the tidal wind amplitudes and phases determined by the two radars, but occasionally, some discontinuities have been observed in the vertical structure of the tidal components in the 90–110 km region. In order to validate the accuracy of the two techniques and the methodologies used in determining neutral winds, two common-volume experiments were conducted in 1996 and 1997 in which the two radar beams were overlayed at an altitude of 100 km. The horizontal components of the measured radar line-of-sight velocities during day-time periods were then compared at the overlapping altitudes of 95–100 km. Night-time measurements were also made using a Fabry–Perot Interferometer co-located with the radar at Millstone Hill which observed the Doppler shift of the atomic oxygen green line emission in the mesosphere. Good overall agreement is found between the instruments within the statistical uncertainties of the measurement techniques, although some differences have been found that are explained by consideration of the data statistics, the exact overlap of common volume within the different beam sizes, and the presence of altitude gradients and small scale irregularities in the sampled volumes of the atmosphere.     

High-altitude data assimilation system experiments for the northern summer mesosphere season of 2007

A global numerical weather prediction system is extended to the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) and used to assimilate high-altitude satellite measurements of temperature, water vapor and ozone from MLS and SABER during May–July 2007. Assimilated temperature and humidity from 100 to 0.001 hPa show minimal biases compared to satellite data and existing analysis fields. Saturation ratios derived diagnostically from these assimilated temperature and water vapor fields at PMC altitudes and latitudes compare well with seasonal variations in PMC frequency measured from the aeronomy of ice in the mesosphere (AIM) satellite. Synoptic maps of these diagnostic saturation ratios correlate geographically with three independent transient mesospheric cloud events observed at midlatitudes by SHIMMER on STPSat-1 and by ground observers during June 2007. Assimilated temperatures and winds reveal broadly realistic amplitudes of the quasi 5-day wave and migrating tides as a function of latitude and height. For example, analyzed winds capture the dominant semidiurnal MLT wind patterns at 55°N in June 2007 measured independently by a meteor radar. The 5-day wave and migrating diurnal tide also modulate water vapor mixing ratios in the polar summer MLT. Possible origins of this variability are discussed.     

Atmospheric tides and mean winds in the meteor region over Santa Maria (29.7°S; 53.8°W)

We compare meteor radar measurements of the MLT region winds at Santa Maria, Brazil (29.7°S, 53.8°W) with the Horizontal Neutral Wind Model (HWM-93) and the Global Scale Wave Model (GSWM-00). The observed annual variation of the prevailing zonal wind disagrees in some respects with the HWM-93 model. Also, the zonal diurnal tide amplitude shows an annual variation, whereas that of the GSWM-00 is semiannual, and its vertical wavelength is smaller than that suggested by the model. The observed semidiurnal tide shows seasonal and inter-annual variations and the phase is evanescent during almost the whole year.     

Latitudinal and seasonal variability of the micrometeor input function: A study using model predictions and observations from Arecibo and PFISR

In this work, we use a semi-empirical model of the micrometeor input function (MIF) together with meteor head-echo observations obtained with two high power and large aperture (HPLA) radars, the 430 MHz Arecibo Observatory (AO) radar in Puerto Rico (18°N, 67°W) and the 450 MHz Poker flat incoherent scatter radar (PFISR) in Alaska (65°N, 147°W), to study the seasonal and geographical dependence of the meteoric flux in the upper atmosphere. The model, recently developed by Janches et al. [2006a. Modeling the global micrometeor input function in the upper atmosphere observed by high power and large aperture radars. Journal of Geophysical Research 111] and Fentzke and Janches [2008. A semi-empirical model of the contribution from sporadic meteoroid sources on the meteor input function observed at arecibo. Journal of Geophysical Research (Space Physics) 113 (A03304)], includes an initial mass flux that is provided by the six known meteor sources (i.e. orbital families of dust) as well as detailed modeling of meteoroid atmospheric entry and ablation physics. In addition, we use a simple ionization model to treat radar sensitivity issues by defining minimum electron volume density production thresholds required in the meteor head-echo plasma for detection. This simplified approach works well because we use observations from two radars with similar frequencies, but different sensitivities and locations. This methodology allows us to explore the initial input of particles and how it manifests in different parts of the MLT as observed by these instruments without the need to invoke more sophisticated plasma models, which are under current development. The comparisons between model predictions and radar observations show excellent agreement between diurnal, seasonal, and latitudinal variability of the detected meteor rate and radial velocity distributions, allowing us to understand how individual meteoroid populations contribute to the overall flux at a particular location and season.     

The lunar tides in the Antarctic mesosphere and lower thermosphere

Horizontal winds in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere over the Antarctic have been measured by a meteor radar at Rothera (67.5°S, 68.0°W) and MF radar at Davis (68.6°S, 78.0°E). Data from Rothera recorded over a 20-month interval in 2005–2006 and data from Davis recorded over the 13-year interval 1994–2006 are examined to investigate the monthly mean behaviour of the lunar semidiurnal tide. Both data sets show a clear signal of the 12.42-h lunar semidiurnal (M₂) tide. The amplitude reaches values as large as 8 m s⁻¹. The vertical wavelengths of the tide vary seasonally from 10 to 65 km. Comparisons of the phase of the tide measured over the two sites reveals that it does not purely consist of a migrating wavenumber 2 mode. This suggests that other, non-migrating, modes are likely to be present.     

Dynamical response of low-latitude middle atmosphere to major sudden stratospheric warming events

The zonally averaged UK Meteorological Office (UKMO) zonal mean temperature and zonal winds for the latitudes 8.75°N and 60°N are used to investigate the low-latitude dynamical response to the high latitude sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) events that occurred during winter of the years 1998–1999, 2003–2004 and 2005–2006. The UKMO zonal mean zonal winds at 60°N show a short-term reversal to westward winds in the entire upper stratosphere and lower mesosphere and the low-latitude winds (8.75°N) show enhanced eastward flow in the upper stratosphere and strong westward flow in the lower mesosphere during the major SSW events at high latitudes. The mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) zonal winds acquired by medium frequency (MF) radar at Tirunelveli (8.7°N, 77.8°E) show a change of wind direction from eastward to westward several days before the onset of SSW events and these winds decelerate and weak positive (eastward) winds prevail during the SSW events. The time variation of zonal winds over Tirunelveli is nearly similar to the one reported from high latitudes, except that the latter shows intense eastward winds during the SSW events. Besides, the comparison of daily mean meridional winds over Tirunelveli with those over Collm (52°N, 15°E) show that large equatorial winds are observed over Tirunelveli during the 2005–2006 event and over Collm during the 1998–1999 events. The variable response of MLT dynamics to different SSW events may be explained by the variability of gravity waves.