Observation of 6.5-day waves in the MLT region over Wuhan

In this paper, the 6.5-day planetary waves over Wuhan (30.5°N, 114.3°E) were investigated on the basis of the meteor radar measurements within 78–98 km height region during February 2002–December 2005. The observations show that 6.5-day waves have a prominent seasonal variability and have larger amplitudes at equinoxes than at solstices. We also found that intensive waves occur mostly between 84 and 98 km, and the zonal components of 6.5-day waves are a little larger than its meridional components on average. The main periods of 6.5-day waves are near 6–7 days in spring/winter season and 5–7 days (even extend to 8 days) in autumn months. However, these waves exhibit a downward progression when the amplitude is large. Robust wave events occur basically in eastward background winds. During the 4-year interval, the strongest waves were found in Apri–-May of 2003 and 2004.