Radar Measurement of Tidal Winds at Stratospheric Heights over Arecibo

Abstract

Wind oscillations of tidal periods that showed a marked downward phase progression were detected at the lower stratosphere using the Arecibo radar. The amplitudes of 1–5 m s⁻¹ were inferred for both diurnal and semidiurnal components, much larger than the values predicted by the classical tidal theory. The vertical wavelengths inferred were also less than the theoretical values; ∼5 km for the diurnal component and 2–9 km for the semidiurnal component.