THEORETICAL MODELING AND ANALYSIS OF THERMOSPHERIC WINDS IN IONOSPHERE
热层风场的理论模拟与分析

A theoretical thermospheric circulation model has been developed recently. In the model, in term of the operator-splitting method, the Navier-Stokes equations have been solved to derive horizontal neutral winds. The parameters of the atmosphere and ionosphere at present are taken from the latest atmospheric model (NRLMSISE-00) and International Reference Ionosphere Model (IRI2000). The variation of the thermospheric winds associated with height, latitude, season and local time can be investigated by using the model. In this paper, to seek for understanding the effects of electric fields, ion-drag and the non-linear term, results from our three-dimensional model are compared with those from two simplified models. It is suggested that the non-linear term effects and the viscosity effect must be taken into account in the neutral wind calculation, especially at low latitudes and in equatorial regions. Our model will be useful to understand the thermospheric neutral dynamics and the coupling between the thermosphere and ionosphere.