Critical frequency foF2 as an indicator of trends in thermospheric dynamics

Variations with time during recent decades of three parameters are considered. R(foF2) is the correlation coefficient between the nighttime and daytime values of foF2 within the same day. Stable trends are found for minimal (R(foF2)(min)) and maximal (R(foF2)(max)) values of R(foF2) over the year. The foF2(day)/foF2(night) ratio demonstrates both negative and positive trends; the sign of the trend being governed by the inclination I and declination D of the magnetic field. The correlation coefficient r(h,fo) between foF2 and the 100-hPa level in the stratosphere demonstrates a decrease (both, for the years of maximum and minimum solar activity) from the 1980s to the 1990s. The trends in all three groups of data are considered in the scope of an assumption that there is a long-term change in the circulation in the upper atmosphere. The data considered in the paper provide an indirect confirmation of the existence of this change and show the possibility that further studies of the thermospheric dynamics can be undertaken using ground-based ionospheric observations.