Indian Journal of Radio & Space Physics

Vol. 23, October 1994, pp. 299-312

A reference ~tmosphere for the Indian equatorial zone

~
Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandru~~?~2_~~~
-_'~ __ '"'_-'~-'-"~~- > --~"~",., •••• -~'-."-~--'~-'"'-"-'''~'~-''''~'-'''''"

Received 17 January 1994; revised 23 May 1994; accepted 24 June 1994

~ empirical reference atmospheric model applicable to 0-15°N latitude and 0-80 kIn height
range in the Indian equatorial zone is constructed from the balloon and rocket data obtained at
Trivandrum for a period of 16 years. The reference atmospheric temperatures are compared witJt
those of CIRA 1986 for lOoN latituderfCospar Internati0"nfl!..R6fercnc;g~tihQsphere: 19B6-Part II:

!lr!i4dle ~t'!X!sphere',ModeJ~,edited
fOJdj~/t9~and significant diffurences betweenJ the
by 'IYRees, J.Bamett'and K Labitzke"{Pergamon
two are found Press,0x~
at mesospheric altitudes. The
possible reasons for the same are discussed.) ,.30 R~',

1 Introduction satellite-derived temperature data has been pro'-

The thermal structure O,f the middle atmo's-
po'sed by Barnett and Co'rne~ This prO,pO,sed
phere is very impO,rtant fO,r many technical and reference atmo'sphere is based O,n infrared radi-
scientific studies. FO,r instance, fO,r launching O,f ance data o'btained by Selective Cho'pper Radio'-
so'unding ro'ckets and satellite launch vehicles the meter (SCR) abo'ard Nimbus 5 satellite during
vertical distributio'n O,f the atmo'spheric tempera- January 1973-December 1974 and by Pressure
ture, density and pressure is an impo'rtant input. MO,dulato'r Radio'meter (PMR) abo'ard Nimbus 6
Similarly fO,rscientific studies such as the study O,f during June 1975-July 1978. This reference at-
pro'pagatio'n O,f waves (e.g. tides, Kelvin waves, mo'sphere makes use O,f climatO,IO,gyderived by
mixed Ro'ssby-gravity waves and gravity waves) OO,rt4 belO,w abo'ut 20 km and gives the mo'nthly
through the earth's atmo'sphere, kno'wledge O,fthe zonal mean temperature, pressure and density in
atmo'spheric parameters, namely, temperature and the height range 0-80 km at 5-km intervals frO,m
density, is necessary. 800S to' 800N latitude in 10° latitude steps and
this has become part O,f CIRA 1986 (Ref. 5).
tA few empirical reference mO,dels O,fthe atmo's-
Apart frO,m the satellite data based middle atmos-
pheric parameters are available fO,rthe equatO,rial phere reference atmo'sphere by Barnett and Cor-
regio'n with incO,rporatiO,n O,f limited spatial and
ney3, Ko'shelkO,v6propo'sed a middle atmo'sphere
tempO,ral variatiO,ns. FO,r example, CIRA 1972
reference mO,del fO,r the So'uthern Hemisphere
(Ref. 1) and CO,leand Kantor2 give the vertical
derived exclusively frO,m rocketso'nde data. Ko'sh-
distributio'n O,ftemperature, pressure and density
elkO,v gives the mo'nthly mean tJ1ermo'dynamic
in the eqato'rial middle atmo'sphere at OON and
variables (temperature, pressure and density) in
100N115~ at 5-km height intervals and fO,revery the 25-80 km height range at every 5 km and 0°_
mo'nth. These empirical reference mO,dels are
700S latitude in steps O,f 10°. Ananthasayanam
essentially based O,n the MeteO,rO,IO,gicalRo'cket
and Narasimha7 prO,pO,sedan iQ,tematio'nal tro'pi-
Netwo'rk (MRN) data frO,m statiO,ns lo'cated in the
cal reference atmo'sphere up to' 80 km, based O,n
lo'ngitude range O,f140W to' 160OW,with relatively ballo'o'nso'nde, ro'cketso'nde and grenade and fall-
few measurements in the equatO,rial regio'n. Since
ing sphere data, valid fO,rthe tro'pical regio'n up to'
the preparatio'n O,fCIRA 1972 (Ref. 1), there has
30° frO,mthe equatO,r.
been a substantial increase in the number O,fmea-
WMO (WO,rldMeteO,rO,IO,gicalOrganizatiO,n) de-
surements O,f atmo'spheric thermal structure by
fines (as given in CIRA 1972) a standard atmo's-
different satellite experiments as well as by mete-
phere as a hYPO,thetical vertical distributio'n O,fat-
o'rO,IO,gicalrockets and different ground-based
techniques. mo'spheric temperature, pressure and density
• which, by internatio'nal agreement, is roughly rep-
Recently, a draft O,fthe new "Reference Atmo's- resentative O,fyear-ro'und, mid-latitude co'nditions,
phere fO,r the Middle Atmo'sphere" based O,n and a reference atmo'sphere as a family O,fatmO,s-
300 INDIAN J RADIO & SPACE
pheres which are hypothetical vertical distribu-
tions of atmospheric temperature, pressure and
density which, by international agreement, are
roughly representative of the various geographical
and seasonal conditions over the earth. The tropi-
cal reference atmosphere by Ananthasayanam and
Narasimha7 gives a single vertical distribution of
temperature, pressure and density for annual
mean conditions and for the entire tropical region
from 0 to 300N and hence their 'reference' atmos-
phere can really be only a 'standard' atmosphere.
In addition to the zonal mean reference atmos-
pheres in the 0-80 km mentioned earlier, Justus et
a1.8,9 had developed a four-dimensional (4-D) glo-
bal reference atmospheric model for surface to
orbital heights which was later revised by Justus
et al.1O This 4-D global reference atmospheric
model can generate (using a computer program)
thermodynamical variables and winds as a func-
tion of height (0-700 km), latitude, longitude and
time (month) and is based on radiosonde, rocket-
sonde, and satellite data. This model also can give
perturbations about the monthly means and qua-
si-biennial oscillations. These perturbations par-
tially simulate the variability due to synoptic, diur-
nal, planetary wave and gravity wave variations.
One essential input in the development of refer-
ence models such as those of CIRA 1986 (Ref.
S), Barnett and Corney3, Koshelkov6 and Justus et
al.1O is the reference atmospheres over stations
spread over different latitudes and longitudes all
over the globe. Further, for the revision of these
reference models or for the retrieval of atmos-
pheric temperatures from satellite radiance data,
the reference atmospheres at particular locations
are necessary, especially when they are used as
initial guess of the temperature profile in the tem-
perature retrieval from radianc€ data. The import-
ance of the reference atmospheres at individual
stations in the tropical region is enhanced in the
light of recent reports of planetary scale features
in the tropical mesospheric temperature (e.g. Bar-
nett and Corney 11, Venne et a1.12) and large longit-
udinal variation of temperature (- 20 K) in the
equatorial mesosphere (Clancy and Rusch13).
Sasi and Sen GUpta14 have proposed a reference
atmosphere for the low-latitude Indian zone
which gives the vertical distribution of tempera-
ture, density and pressure at l-km intervals in the
0-80 km height range for every month. Their ref-
erence model is based on temperature data at
Trivandrum in the 0-80 km altitude range for the
period January 1971 to April 1982. It gives annu-
I 1l1,,~U
PHYS, OCTOBER 1994
al means and monthly mean values of tempera-
ture, pressure and density at every km altitude
from 0 to 80 km. In this paper this reference at-
mosphere for the Indian equatorial zone from
surface to 80 km is revised using meteorological
balloon data and M-I00/M-100B rocket data at
Trivandrum (8SN, nOEl from December 1970
to November 1986. Though the reference atmos-
phere is based on data only at Trivandrum, it may
be valid for the latitude range 00-IS~ in the
equatorial Indian zone since the latitudinal vari-
ations in the atmospheric thermodynamic vari-
ables are small within 15° of the equator2 • .. I
2 Data
The temperature data used for evolving the
.-
reference atmosphere are based on meteorologi-
cal balloon data in the 0-23 km height range and
M-I00/M-I00B rocket data in the 24-80 km
height range at Trivandrum. Differences exist bet-
ween the radiosonde and rocketsonde tempera-
tures for individual flights in the lower strato-
sphere (in the overlapping height region) and they
are essentially random in nature. The differences
between the corresponding monthly mean values
get considerably reduced. Hence modification of
temperature values was not necessary in this
height region. The total length of the data is 16
years from December 1970 to November 1986
with a gap of 11 months from June 1974 to April
1975. Using spline interpolation method, the data
are interpolated for these gap periods.
The temperatures measured by balloonsonde
have errors (Lm.s.) of -1 K. The r.m.s. errors in
the rocket-measured (M-lOOB) temperatures were
experimentally determined by Lysenko et al.15 and
vary from 2.7 K at 20 km to 11 K at 80 km. In
addition to the r.m.s. errors in the temperatures
measured by M-I00/M-100B rockets, these tem-
peratures contain systematic errors as noted in an
international experiment (Finger and Gelman16;
Finger et al.17). This experiment was conducted to
determine the compatibility of temperature values
as measured with different types of sensors in
rocket payloads by different countries. In this ex-
periment, conducted at Guiana, four countries,
France, UK, USSR and USA, participated. The
results indicated, in general, good compatibility
among temperature values as obtained with diffe-
rent sensors below 40 km. Above that level, dif-
ferent sensors gave different temperature values.
In the above experiment, temperature sensors of
USSR, UK and France were wire-type whereas
that of USA was bead-type thermistor.
11111II 'II ,." "",
 SASI: A REFERENCE ATMOSPHERE FOR 1HE INDIAN EQUATORIAL ZONE 301

The results of this experiment ~howed that the
average differences in temperatu*s measured by
these four payloads up to about 45 km remain
well within ± 5 K, with no systematic biasappar-
ent. Above 45 km, French, UK and USA mea-
surements were found to give geperally compati-
ble values, despite occasional nJean differences
larger than 5 K (which may be considered ran-
dom in nature). However, the av~rage differences
of temperatures as measured with the USSR pay-
load were found to increase steadily above 45 km,
reaching approximately 20 K between 60 and
65 km and then decreasing with height above
65km.
Subsequently, there was one mQre intercompar-
ison experiment held in 1977 at Wallops Island in
which USA and USSR participat~d. It was found
from this experiment that the t¢mperature pay-
loads used by the USA and US~R yielded diffe-
rent temperature profiles (IvaI}ovsky et a/.18,
Schmidlin19). These differences !were systematic
and were attributed to the di1lferences in the
method of measuring temperatur~ and in the data
processing procedures. Following this intercom-
parison experiment there waSi a change in
M-I00B rocket payload since January 1978
(Koshelkov et a/.20). The change i)l payload led to
changes in the data processing. i As a result of
these changes, since January 19ry8 the M-I00B
rQcket-measured temperature d$l as published
by Central Aerological Observatory, Moscow,
seem to be free from any kimI of systematic
biases unlike in the published! data prior to
December 1977. Recent studies rpade on temper-
Koshelkov et apoinand
ature variations the on
equatorial
the thehnal
atmosphere
structure by
of
the Southern Hemisphere by I4oshelkov6 show
that the mesospheric temperatur~ as obtained by
M-100/M-I00B rockets prior to IDecember 1977
and published from Moscow ne~ to be adjusted
for compatibility with the temperature data from
January 1978. Following Koshelkiov et apo, these
adjustment factors were obtained from the diffe-
M-I00B rocket and meteorological balloon obser-
vations .were averaged over a period of one
month to obtain monthly mean values at every
kilometre height. This process was repeated for
each month for the 16-year period from Decem-
ber 1970 to November 1986. The missing month-
ly mean values were interpolated us~g spline
approximation. Thus a total of 192 monthly
means of temperatures were available for the
analysis.
The monthly mean temperature data were sub-
jected to spectrum analysis using Fast Fourier
Transform (FFT) technique. Using the long-term
mean (considered as the average annual mean)
and the amplitudes and phases of the annual,
semiannual and terannual components, obtained
from the FFT analysis, and Eq. (1) given below,
the average monthly mean values (12) were gene-
rated at every kilometre height and these monthly
mean values of the temperature constitute the re-
ference model atmosphere (temperature) for the
Indian equatorial zone.
A(t)=Ao + Al cos (wt-~)
+ Az cos (2wt- "fz) ... (1)
+ A3 cos (3wt- ¢;)
where
A(t) Temperature at time t
Ao Annual mean temperature (over 16
years)
Al , Az , A3 Amplitudes of the annual, semiannual
and terannual oscillations respectively
(over 16 years)
~ , "fz, ~ Phases of the annual, semiannual and
terannual oscillations respectively (over
16 years)
w= 2n/-r
80
70

kilometre height above 50 km, fore and after e

....
rences of1978
January the mean (in shown
and are time) tem~ratures
in· ig. 1 andat these
each ::: 60
~...
are applied to the temperature d~ta up to Decem- ·w
%
50
ber
ture 1977 (prior January
data from to January
1978197$). The tempera-
hate been taken ~
such without any adjustments. A similar proce-
40
dure was adopted by Sasi and !Sen GUpta14 for -) o ) , , 17 15
evolving their reference atmosphe~e. Adjust•• nt f.ctor for t•• p.r.tur. IKI

3 Method of analysis Fig. I-Adjustment factors for M-lOO rocket-measured tem-

The weekly values of temperatures from M-lOO/ peratures in the 40-80 kIn height range.
302 INDIAN J RADIO & SPACE PHYS, OCTOBER 1994

where 80

T= 12 months, the annual period o---a January

••.•••••••• April
t=0,1,2, ..., 11, where 0,1,2, ..., 11 corresponds to 60
the middle of December, January, ..., Novem- E
.--. July \-
=
_ be..!.res.£ect~eIL __
~ 40
Ao, A1, Az, A3, ~1' ~z and ~3 in Eq. (1) are the .~
••
long-term (over 16 years) mean values and these :r:

values are given in Table 1. 20

The height profiles of monthly mean tempera-
tures for the months of January, April, "July and
Q.cto~er s.en~ated u~ing the values of Ao, A1,
Az, A3, ~1' ~z and ~3 from Table 1 and Eq. (1)
are given in Fig. 2. It is seen from Fig. 2 that sea-
sonal variations are siginificant in the entire height
range 0-80 km. Since the seasonal variation in
temperatures is small and the temperature lapse
rates are large in the troposphere, seasonal varia-
tion is partially masked and is not as conspicuous
as in the stratosphere and mesosphere. It can be
seen from Fig. 2 that seasonal variation in tem-
perature is relatively high in the upper stratos-
phere and upper mesosphere.
In the tropical stratosphere the seasonal varia-
tion of temperature is mainly produced by the
ozone heating by the semiannually varying solar
ultraviolet flux and the maximum ozone heating
takes place in the upper stratosphere around
equinox times. In the tropical mesosphere seasonal
o
170 190 210 290 310
Fig. 2-Average (16-year) seasonal variation of temperature
at Trivandrum (8SN, n°E).
variation in temperature is partially produced by •
semiannually varying adiabatic expansion induced
by the semiannual ozone heating in the upper
stratosphere and the maximum adiabatic cooling
may be expected to take place just below the
mesopause level. Further, seasonal dependence of
the breaking up of gravity waves and tides in the
upper mesosphere and the consequent tempera-
ture changes taking place there will result in a
large seasonal variation of temperature in this re-
gion. Thus one can expect seasonal variation in
temperature to be relatively large in the upper
stratosphere and upper mesosphere.

K~
185.24
115.31
288.76
303.53
255.02
106.10
278.36
283.97
259.68
302.18 K
65.25
105.53
254.30
61.41
231.22
(1.0) K
72.07
(99~2)
298.96
51.12
244.32
294.93((.4)
39.52
94.36
24.43
184.53
42.40
118.87
261.15
165.52
261.38
234.91
74.521.18
239.75
1.02
~2.31
212.88
303.22
60.26
(44.4)
(13.7)
(.3)
(.5) .34
.91
.34
.38
(.3)
.25
.41
.35
.18
2.14.53
.56
.58
.23
.12
.22
.03
.11
~.3)
.13
.39
.50
.14
.16
.26
(6.6)
(.5)
(46.0)
(105.1J
(81.5)
(85.9)
(100.4)
(.6)
(.9)
(.3)
(48.1)
(65.0)
(1.1) (.2)
(92.0)
(67.1)
(101.1)
(87.3)
(1.3)
(92.6)
(1.2)
(83.1) .51 temperature (~) and amplitudes and phases of the annual (AG), semiannual (SAG) and terannual
(.5)
(71.4)
(93.0)
(100.9)
(80.6)
(124.1)
(120.4)
(76.9)
(1.1)
deg
(93.5)
(109.2)
(90.4)
deg
Al(.3)
(.4)
Table I-Annual
A3 ~
A2 mean
(TAG) oscillations are shown
Contd. of temperatures at Trivandrum in parentheses)
and their standard deviations (year-to-year variability) (standard deviations

I "I" 1 1 '", I ' I' " 1"1 nll"""l1 "I I , UI~U'1I11111111 III iil· 1111 11111~1,1 III ;.I n,l. n. II "
 KK
96.12
285.30
230.36
215.75
221.35
223.64
226.16
Ut9
~n4.86
121.28
234.79
207.78
284.35
195.78
197.00
303.66
93.78
218.27
138.12
201.61
206.35
302.87
180.08
215.91
62.41
311.39
307.77
(104.3)
(119.6)
(1.5)
(110.0)
51.95
(118.7)
(1.4)
(
(107.31
(1.0)
(74.6)
(78.6)
(96.7)
(47.2)
(62.7)
(69.5)
(30.7)1.
204.24
251.76
236.34
144.24
302.25
126.72
306.66
351.86
316.67
333.72
329.40
13.06
253.86
209.97
218.63
212.62
207.92
195.55
244.06
299.83
266..
97.63
232.47
304.33
174.99
67.44
224.08
215.32
326.90
322.22
161.26
329.25
193.72
91.77
248.43
111.99
201.36
292.92
240.42
30.55
163.26
248.12
76.61
35.60
107.53
247.30 K26
((58.0)
226.10.3)
156.80
199.71
200.46
232.82
76.67 1.67
1.76
201.29
1.43
(97.5)
326.61
339.63
248.67 1.27
(96.3)
(90.0)
(106.2)
(104.9)
(1.9)
(89.3)
(75.6)
(41.2)
(66.7)
(1.3)
(41.7)
(69.2)
(89.7)
(97.3) .13
.09
.16
.9)
(90.5)
(69.7)
(1.0)
(.5)
(.8)
(99.5)
(60.5)
(.5) 43
.30
:67
.52
1.05
2.02
.11
3.21
2.08
1.42
1.26
1.66.44
.32
.62
.08
.48
.92
.87
~
1.20
.69
.72
.61
.24
.26
.25
.60
3.07
.14
.57
.71
.33
.65
.23
.78
1.61
1.30
.10
.24
.28
.41
.16
(51.6)
236.20
183.94
259.79
246.74
277.49
200.76 .29
(63.6)
.90
.64
.44
.83
.89
(58.9)
(66.2)
(54.3)
138.56
(67.9)
294.47
181.68
264-.54
2.09.32
.76
.15
.11
(42.9)
·(.8)
(91.1)
75.42
264.91
(1.6) .94
(46.9)
(70.5)
d(.7)
(.6)
(.9)
(.4)
(79.4)
(1.1)
(.3)
(93.6)
(117.2)
(68.2)
(37.7)
(95.9)(.7)
(120.4)
(45.5)
(89.6)
(82.5)
(77.1)1..
(.9)
(116.1)
(82.7)
(.6)
(74.9)
(105.8)
(1.1)
(74.2)
(89.4)
(102.8)
Al
;3
A2
A3 eg(..
deg
(92.6)
deg(64.2)
ft1.46
(.4)
fz 5
7 9
) (111.1)
A(.6)
(136.5)
(109.3)
(.6)
(123.3)
(.4)
(109.7)
(1.1)
(.7)
(100.5)
(129.7)
(121.0)
SASI: (.5)
REFERENCE ATMOSPHERE FOR 1HE INDIAN EQUATORIAL ZONE 303
(TAD) oscillations of temperatures are shown in parentheses)-( Contd)
at Trivandrum and their standard deviations (year-to-year. variability) (standard deviations
Contd.

annual (SAD) and terannual

 304 K65.01
58.50
56.94
62.26
5E.45
56.59
(100.4)
(102.6)
260.03
127.58
251.86
255.41
250.13
264.64
251.06
191.01
253.11
263.76
256.40
260.62
264.57
263.58
131.11
204.04
223.02
218.74
211.95
260.24
119.95
252.61
183.32
198.61
262.36
262.04
263.92
258.10
161.
276.69
231.
213.34-
272.02
201.82
194.47
217.16
277.35
199.80
005.4)
(.7
192.08
deg
255.04
235.68
265.61
231.23
246.18
(1.4)
(1.9)
(72.4)
deg
25.8.20
(32.7)
Al
(66.0)
(22.7)
(20.4)
(23.6) K
60-.92
K~3.00
80.68
216.7fi
81.60
202.91
238.31
112.11
(105.1)
(92.4)
(85.7)
(B9.3)
(92.8)
198.60
240.80
245.71
243.29
139.05
114.74
90.96
1.10
98.93
1.00
251.47
261.06
268.51
248.36
2.22
258.83
221.
195.12
116.36
112.92
136.89
264.23
264.58
201.
196.66
191.36
1.
1.15
deg
265.14
255.62
(100.8)
101.54
99.85 ~.13
2.58
2.32
2.10
2.14
1.
1.73
1.05
1.12
239.06 2.61
1.18
(.8).61
.82
.26
((.6)
(69.4)
(64.8)
(1.4)
(1.1)
(38.3)
261.16
258.40
004.2)
001.4)
(91.2)
253.14
(1.0)
(1.2)
(1,8)
(1.6)
(2.1)
(2.0)
(1.8)
(84.5)
~
230.91
(28.3)
(
240.16
(1.3)
(50.5)
(82.5)
(76.6)
(96.1)2.16
3.11
3:18
.80
2.45
2.89
.1)
(63.9)
(1.5)
(82.6)
(85.8)
(25.6)
3.08
.9)
(75.9)
(1.2)
(84.2)
(80.2)
(21.9)
(32.4)
l1.0)
(40.0)
(31.8)
(.9)
(1.3)
(21.
(1.1)
120.58
(65.7)
(91.6)
(81.1)
(103.2)
(90.8)
(66.6)
(45.4)
(30.8)
(24.7)
(88.8)
(88.6)
(90.1)
(89.0)
(89.4)
("77.1)
(64(87.
(21.6)
(88.2)
(99.8)
(14.6)
~.'
(64.0)
(88.0)
A3
A2
"fz ( . 50
.20
.26
31
.06
2.06
2.63
1.74
.84 62
34
36
55
11
.18
2.34
2.03
.50
.81
.92
66
96
04
2.18
1.15
2.13
1.14
1'.78
276..84
192.96
196.24
236.00 81
29
24
59
.57
.91
:91
31
49
21
22
44
2612
)
68
.9)
.41
64
.68
.10
.42
(.9)
.6)
.8)
.9)
(.8)
(1.2)
(.7)
(44.7)
(1.0) (.9)
(.1)
8
.1)
(1.3)
(59.1)
(1.0)
(104.1)
(65.9) ) ),.. i
.(1.2)
1 ) (1.1)
4) (1. 1 ) INDIAN J RADIO & SPACEPHYS,OCTOBER 1994
(90.3)
(90.B)
(85.6)
are shown
(TAO) oscillations of temperatures at Trivandrum in parentheses)-(
and their Contd) (year-to-year variability) (standard deviations
standard deviations
Contd.
an temperature (11;,) and amplitudes and phases of the annual (AO), semiannual (SAO) and terannual

I I 1 I 'I' I 'I I' I" ~ 1"1'! "I 'I' "1 I 'III;'~ 11111 III!I ~llil'IIII !I! IHIIiI III "I" II.II' I'!I 1 Ilftiltl'IIMI
 -
K
K
K
(a~ ~K5)
43.30
56.64
48.10
193.25
3.29
(105.8)
55.61
2.13
52.19
44.52
32.56
76.62
190.63
189.46
188.66
2.66
37.14
186.09
18.54
35.13
29.56
195.91
4.62
2.79
4.61
50.70
1.00
4.11
13.43
163.16
29.96
3.11
48.00
12.36
59.52.66
277.16
217.2139.59
36.73
3.91
1.10
33.24
2.11
128.33 24.04
292.92
24.38
2.99
3.72
1.24
355.42
2.66
3.82
166.67 16.61
279.92
2.65
241.27
164.11
2.43
173.50 .21
.81
(95.6)
.55
231.17
280.15
(102.4)
152.54
133.9
106.42(99.7)
273.99
31.60
280.90
2.10
101.76 1.76
26.26
287.18
2.22
1.24
268.4<t
90.29
2.55
1.21
314.44
112.86
161.3124.96
2.45
1.46
(69.2)
3.03
294.23 1.45
237.93
179.84
1.98
.64
279.10
1.71
3.59
277.15
2.38
216.41
2.01
(3.3)1.87
291.64
2.14
1.26
4.13
(65.6)
(92.1)
247.50
244.40
261.64
(96.6)
241.20
160.11
151.473.14
.22
183.09
19.29
217.65
279.90 1.55
4.51
234.58
180.69
2.19
(98.7)
3.26
(100.1)
210.69
4.48
2.13
(95.4)
4.3::
(82.1)
(46.8)
(106.'1)
(1.1)
(1.8)
(2.4)
221.05
224.35
3.91
4.24
42.62
191.32
1.41
3.01
(125.6)
(3.1)
(113.1)
326.29
1.19
3.35
214.15
4.65
207.45
203.98
(95.1)
(95.7)
198.43
(46.0)
(142.7)
(97.7)
(2.0)
(2.9)
(131.9)
(112.1)
(2.5)
161.66
1.62
.41
(110.6)
(41.8)
3.25
(43.2)
(98.7)
(41.9)
(40.0)
(70.0)
(1.3)
4.76
200.69
(60.0)
(8,9.4)
4.60
(11.4)
(117.5)
(93.9)
(43.7)
(144.0)
297.65
(103.6)
(41.2)
(1.0)
(124.0)
(4.4)
20.69
deg
(1.6)
(42.4)
4.35
(.8)
(.9)
(.9)
(1.3)
(67.8)
(57.8)
(1.2)
(1.6)
(1.4)
(69.1)
(114.7)
(1.5)
4.52
(83.0)
(1.6)
3Z!..;77
(35.8)
(35.3)
(66.6)
(113.1)
(106.3)
(2.4)
(105.8)
deg
(102.4)(2.9)
(43.0)
(46.7)
(.7)
(2.6)
(2.1)
(95.9)
(71.1)
(69.7)
(51.2) (.9)
(93.6)
(1.4)
(3.2)
(139.6)
(135.0)
(61.9)
(106.6)
(2.3)
(2.7)
deg
(1.9)
(96.6)
(2.9)
(3.0)
(64.1)
(2.5)
(2.0)
(62.2)
(52~4)
(.,6)
(2.8)
31t·20
~~(1.1)
(109.7')
Al
(55.0)
111.54
:43(.6)
A2 .40 .~(105.5)
SASI: 34.51
.84
(120.3)
(1.6)
(140.2)
(131.6)
(1.7)
A REFERENCE
(1.1) ATMOSPHERE FOR THE INDIAN EQUATORIAL ZONE 305
(TAO) oscillations of temperatures are shown in parentheses)-( Contd)
at Trivandrum and their standard deviations (year-to-year variability) (standard deviations

nnual (SAO) and terannual

306 INDIAN J RADIO & SPACE PHYS, OCTOBER 1994

It may be noted that the reference atmosphere
(temperature) presented in Table 1 does not con-
tain the contributions from the quasi-biennial os-
cillation (QBO). As discussed by Sasi and Krishna
Murthy2], QBO in temperature is significant in
the height range 15-42 km. Above 42 km, QBO
is weak and irregular. In the reference atmosphere
(temperature) given in Table 1, QBO is not in-
cluded mainly because of its variability in period
and amplitude from cycle to cycle. Thus for the
reference atmosphere (temperature) given in
Table 1, QBO along with any other random fluc-
tuations will add to the variance or standard devi-
ation. This aspect is discussed in the following
section.
annual, semiannual and terannual amplitudes and
phases were determined using FFT in the 0-80
kmregion.
Figure 3(a-c) shows the plots of annual mean
temperature (Ao) as a function 6f time at three
representative heights, namely, 17, 40 and 70 km
respectively. It is seen from the figure that signifi-
cant variation of the annual mean temperature
exists over the 16-year period from 1971 to 1986.
The temperature (Ao) at 17 km [Fig. 3(a)] shows a
minimum value in 1976, near sunspot minimum
20.9 .•..
(C) 70 km

4 Reference model
Using the mean values of Ao, A], A2, AJ, ~,
~ and ~ given in Table 1 and Eq. (1), monthly
mean values of temperature at every one kilome-
tre from surface to 80 km can be generated. Once
the thermal structure of the atmosphere up to 80
km is known, the pressure and density distribu-
tions may be calculated using hydrostatic equation
[Eq. (2)] and perfect gas law [Eq. (3)] given below
if the monthly mean surface pressure Po is known .

... (2)

where
jJ(z) Pressure (montWy mean) at a height z
g Acceleration due to gravity
R Gas constant for dry air assumed to be con-
stant up to 80 km
T MontWy mean temperature
p=pRT ... (3)
where p is the montWy mean density.
Thus from the montWy temperature height pro-
file, the pressure and density distributions can be
obtained under hydr;ostatic approximation and
ideal gas law assumption ..

5 Year-to-year. variations of Ao, A] , A2, AJ, ;],

;2 and;J
The year-to-year variations of Ao, A], Az, ...
were determined in the following way. After de-
termining the spectrum of temperature data using 19°71 7J 75 77 79 81 83 85
FFf, the contributions from QBO (16-48 months) TIME (year)
were removed and the residuals obtained for 192
months. These residuals were then divided into
16 segments (each comprising 12 montWy means)
Fig.3- Year-to-year variation of annual mean temperature at
Trivandrum (8SN, nOEl for the period 1971-86 at (ar
and for each segment the annual mean and the 17 Ian, (b) 40 km. and (e) 70 Ian heights.

I I , I 1 '" I 'I I' '11'11'1'11 'II 1'1' II I;II~ IIII~ II 'II 11111
III I o,lll~n I III "
 SASI:A REFERENCE ATMOSPHERE FOR TIlE INDIAN EQUATORIAL ZONE 307

and a maximum value in 1980-81, near sunspot corresponds to the months of December, April
maximum, and again a maximum value during the and August. Further, 30° corresponds' to 1 month
sunspot minimum period 1985-86. The tempera- for AO, 60° for SAO and 90° for TAO respect-
ture variation at 70 km [Fig. 3(c)] shows that tem- ively. In these figures the solid curve represents
perature is minimum in 1975, maximum in 1979 the 16-year mean values and the dashed curve
and another minimum in 1982. Therefore no mean ± a. It is seen from these figures that there
clear solar cycle correlation can be seen in tem- are significant year-to-year variations in these
perature variations at 17 and 70 km heights. At parameters.
40 km [Fig. 3(b)], temperature variation shows a A comparative study of the 16-year mean am-
maximum in 1975, a minimum in 1982-83 and a plitudes and phases of AO, SAO, and TAO·over
maximum in 1986. Apparently temperature and Trivandrum with those obtained by Nastrom and
solar cycle variations are not correlated at 40 km. Belmont22 for WON latitude (hereinafter designat-
The long-term variation of temperature has not
been pursued further in the present investigation.
80 " ,,
However, it is interesting to note that the long- < - It •••
: 116-,,,'1
60
term variation of annual mean temperature has a
large range of 5-7 K. e'"
~ --
,, ntr
I H••

There are variations in annual, semiannual and ~ 40

'"
,,-,.
\

terannual oscillations also. The year-to-year vari- 'w

:z:
ations of Ao, AI' A2, A3, ••• ¢3 were determined
frum the values of these parameters obtained for 20

each of them for the 16-year period. The height

profiles of the 16-year mean of these parameters o
2 4 6 8 10 -180 0 180 360 540
along with their· standard deviations (a), repre- AlIlplitude IKI Phase Ideg I
senting the year-to-year variations, are given in Fig. 5-Amplitude and phase of annual oscillation (AO) in
Figs 4-7. In Table 1, along with the mean values temperature at Trivandrum (8.5'N, 77"E). 16-year mean
of these parameters, the values of a are also given values are shown by solid curves and the mean ± standard de-
in parentheses. Figure 4 gives the heigllt variation viations representing year-to-year variations by dashed curves.
80
of the annual mean temperature (Ao): The ampli- ••• __ ••. ~ c> ••.

tude (AI) and phase (¢I) of the annual oscillation " -,

(AO) in temperature are given in Fig. 5. The zero \
of the phase (¢I) of AO corresponds to the month
60
;\
of December. The amplitude (A2) and phase (¢2)
x-E 40 -Mean '\ ~
of the semiannual oscillation (SAO) in tempera- (16-yearl \~ \ •..••••
1,'
.c
ture are given in Fig. 6. The zero of the SAO C7I
••
- Mean
-- Mean:t •.•
(
1k,.,-::,
phase (¢2) corresponds to the months of Decem- ::t: _ ..0:..

20 116-yea.)
ber and June. Fi.pre 7 shows the amplitude (A3)
-- Mean±-
and phase (¢3) of the terannual oscillation (TAO)
in temperature. The zero of the TAO phase (¢3) 4 6 8 10 -180 0 180 360 540
o

l:'
Amplitude IKI Phase (deg)
80
Fig.6-Sarne as Fig. 5, but for semiannual oscillation (SAO).
- ••••• 116-,"'1
80
--- ••••• ± r
.E
60
,
.,••.•. 116-yeari . 'r
.>< '-. -Mean -.~
~ 40
.~ E
.>
'"
("
,"'-
, .'••••,
••
:t:
x "1 --., -"\
:: 40 <" / (.'
20 C7I -Mean ',~
~
..c.

60 2:
l< --Mean
(
{

r.- __
116-yea ~)-
~~<a]n:!:~~
-',
• ,
~~':>
\, .
~"-'
0_ 70 ~? ~--~-~_.
170 190 210 230 250 270 290 310 <( \l, £;..-_.~'"~ ....
Temperature IKI (~j#J
o ." <.
<..:1"

Fig. 4-16-year average annual mean temperature (solid o 2 '4 6 -180 0 180 360 540
curve) at Trivandrum (8.5"N, 77"E) and mean±standard de- A.plitudl Phul (dig I
(KI
viations (dashed curves) representing year-to-year variations. Fig. 7-Same as Fig. 5, but for teninnual oscill8tion(TAO~
 .'.d.,..'·' ••• "ft." •.•• _"""""'."'" 11','~f "'n'lI"II"l .' '11'_.r1tRllll" I,,'If

308 INDIAN J RADIO & SPACE PHYS, OcrOBER 1994

40
ed as NB 10) shows that the mean values for ~ 80
:l:
.•.
:=0 20 ..r::: .•...
,.- ~ .
Trivandrum generally agree with those for NB 10. E :,1 .
NB 10 values are based on rocket-measured tem-
perature data over Kwajalein (8~, 167OW) for a
600
J
J
"j '..':
.'
.'
,
",
, . .
period of about 10 years and over Fort Sherman I
I ••'. -- r.•. 1.• rror. in .onthly _uns
(9°N, 80OW) for a period of about 7 years. The ~ .- •••• t ••.•. diff.renc •• ' •• del-observed)

amplitudes and phases of NB 10 cover the height ,.,/' .....;:. - - - t.••I. diff.,enell (after Ind Q.IIO

••~, •• ". J6- and 192- .onth nriltion.

range 20-65 km._ ,. ~ .': .••• w.r. f •• oved)
I '.
The AO amplitude (AI) (Fig. 5) at Trivandrum
is about 2 K near 20 km and it decreases with in- ,.0;:'\>
~..
crease in height and reaches a minimum near '). 4 6 8 10
r.m.s. errors/differences (KJ
35 km and thereafter it increases with height to a
value of about 4 K at 65 km. NB 10 also shows a Fig. 8-Plots of r.m.s. errors in monthly mean temperatures ..
similar behaviour with an amplitude of about 2 K (solid curve), r.m.s. differences between reference model and
at 20 km, a decrease with height reaching a mini- observed monthly mean temperatures (dotted curve) and
mum in the 35-40 km region and thereafter an in- Lm.S. differences between the two after long-term variations
(QBO and 192 and 96 months) are removed (dashed curve).
crease in amplitude with height reaching a value
of 4-5 K at 65 km. The AO phase (¢l) at Trivan- ~, from which the monthly mean temperatures
drum shows a downward propagation of phase were derived, are having considerable. year-to-
(time of maximum temperature) in the height re- year variations. in order to see how close the
gion 65-20 km and the phases occur in January at generated monthly mean temperatures are to the
65 km and in August at 20 km with a small re- observed monthly mean values, the following test
gion of upward phase propagation near 30 km. was carried out. First the root mean square
NB 10 also shows a very similar phase propaga- (r.m.s.) differences between the model (derived
tion with the phases occurring in December-Janu- from ~, AI, ..., ~) monthly mean temperatures
ary at 65 km and in August at 20 km. and observed monthly mean temperatures (192
The SAO amplitude (A2) (Fig. 6) at Trivandrum months) were computed at every one kilometre
shows a broad peak of about 3 K at around 40 height. The vertical distribution of these r.m.s. dif-
km and a minimum of about 1 K at 55 km and ·ferences is shown in Fig. 8 (dotted curve). In Fig.
then it increases with height to. reach a value of 8, the r.m.s. errors in monthly mean temperatrues
about 2.5 K near 65 km. The SAO amplitude for are also shown (solid curve). It is seen that the
NB 10 also shows a broad peak of about 3 K r.m.s. differences between the model and the ob-
around 40 km and a minimum of about 1 K bet- served temperatures are significantly larger than
ween 50 and 55 km and an increase with height the measurement errors in the monthly means.
to reach a value> 2 K at 65 km. The SAO phase This essentially means that the observed tempera-
(¢2) at Trivandrum shows a downward phase tures contain variations other than those (long-
propagation from 65 to 20 km. NB 10 also shows term mean and mean AO, SAO and TAO) consid-
a similar feature in the 65-20 km region. The ab- ered for obtaining the model values. These other
solute values of the phases for Trivandrum and variations are those having periods longer than 12
NB 10 are the same in the 65-40 km. At 30. and months and shorter than 4 months and also year-
20 km a difference of about 1 month exists be- to-year (or cycle-to-cycle) variations of AO, SAO
tween the SAO phases for Trivandrum and NB andTAO.
10. One long-term variation, with period more than
The amplitude of TAO (A3) (Fig. 7) at Trivan- 12 months, is QBO. Sasi and Krishna Murthy21
drum is extremely small 1 K) at most of the
« have shown that QBO amplitudes in temperature
heights between 65 and 20 km. NB 10 also shows in the 15-42 km region over Trivandrum are very
a similar pattern. The TAO phase (¢3) at Trivan- significant and have values of the order of 2 K.
drum and that for NB 10 show downward phase At certain heights the QBO amplitudes reach a
propagation in the 60-35 km height region, with value of about 3.5 K. The QBO amplitudes are of
the absolute phase values close to each other ( ± 1 the same order as the AO and SAO amplitudes.
month). In addition to the QBO variations, other longer-
term variations are also present in temperature as
6 Limitations of the reference model tempera- shown in Fig. 3(a-c). Similar longer-term var-
ture distribution iations (probably related to the ll-year solar cy-
In section 3, it was shown that~, AI' A2, ••• , cle) are reported .in literature13,23-26 in the ob-

I "I , "1' I 'I II I" '11'1"1"1'1' "1 I !'I"~lllIl"lllll I!I~I·I;II~'!I'~11i1111"I~·;I'II; IIII

 SASI: A REFERENCE ATMOSPHERE FOR TIlE INDIAN EQUATORIAL
served temperatures in the tropical middle atmos-
phere. In the spectrum analysis of the 192 month-
ly mean temperatures, if any spectral peaks are
present corresponding to the period of 11 years,
most of the power in the peaks will get distribut-
ed in the spectral components corresponding to
96 and 192 months.
The contributions from QBO .(16-48 months;
and the 96- and 192-month components were
subtracted from the observed monthly means and
again the r.m.s. differences between the observed
and model temperatures were computed. These
Lm.S. differences are also shown in Fig. 8 (dashed
curve). It is seen that r.m.s. differences are signifi-
cantly reduced at most of the heights when QBO,
96- and 192-month variations are removed from
the observed monthly mean temperatures.
In addition to the long-term variations men-
tioned above, there are variations of atmospheric
temperatures on time scales of less than :i month.
These may be primarily categorized into two. The
first is the category of short-term variations pro-
duced by the diurnal and semidiurnal tides forced
by the diurnal heating of 03 anq H20 by solar ra-
diations. These become important above about
25 km. Sasi and Krishna Murthy27 have shown
that diurnal and semidiurnal amplitudes of tem-
perature in the mesosphere reach a maximum va-
lue of 8-9 K. Importance of these tidal variations
will be further discussed in the next section. The
second is the category of random variations about
the monthly means. These random variations may
be represented by the standard deviations of the
observed (weekly) temperatures about the month-
ly mean temperatures and may be assumed to
have a Gaussian distribution. These standard de-
viations are given in Table 2 for the months of
January, April, July and October.
7 Comparisons with ClRA 1986
The monthly mean reference model of temper-
atures obtained from the data over Tdvandrum
from 1971 to 1986 is compared with the refe-
rence atmosphere (for 10"N) taken from CIRA
1986 (Ref. 5). The results of the comparison are
shown in Fig. 9 for the months of January, April,
July and October. Here the reference atmosphere
over Trinvandrum is taken as the reference. The
comparisons are shown at every 5-km height.
It is seen from Fig. 9 that below 25 km height
the differences between the reference atmosphere
over Trivandrum (hereinafter designated as 1;ef)
and the CIRA 1986 for 10"N (hereinafter referred
to as CIRA 86) are small, the maximum differ-
ence being about 2.5 K. At 30 km the differences
ZONE 309
10
611
e:!
:! I
~ 40~ -••........•
April
.Iallu ••. ,
-Jut,
20 L ••.•••.••
oct ••••
o
-30 -20 -10 o 5
DifferenceslKI
Fig. 9-Differences between monthly mean temperatures
(Tref-CIRA 86) for January, April, July and October.
in (T.ef - CIRA 86) show a peak, T.ef being warm-
er and the maximum difference reaching a ·value
of about 4 K during April. In the 35 to 50 km
height region the differences in (1;ef - CIRA 86)
are lying in the range 1-4 K.
Above 55 km, T.ef is colder than CIRA 86, the
maximum difference ( - 30 K) reaching in the up-
per mesosphere (80 km). A similar finding was re-
ported earlier by Koshelkov28 who showed that
the rocketsonde data for lOoS latitude were colder
than reference atmosphere proposed by Barnett
and Corney3 by about 14 K in the 75-80 km re-
gion. The large differences between T.ef and CIRA
86 might originate fi:om different sources. The
measurement techniques adopted in temperature
measurements by rocketsonde and satellite-based
instrument may be one of the sources of differ-
ences in (T.ef - CIRA 86). The meteorological
rocketsonde provides in situ measurements of at-
mospheric temperature with a vertical resolution
of 1-2 km. Satellites, on the other hand, measure
the temperature fields in the stratosphere and me-
sosphere by remote sensing techniques and these
temperatures are, generally, derived from radi-
ance measurements by satellite-borne infrared
radiometers. From the radiance data the vertical
temperature profile is retrieved either through in-
version of the. Planck's radiative equation or by
regression techniques29• For both the techniques a
reference vertical temperature profile (provided
by radiosonde and rocketsonde measurements) is
required for the temperatUre retrieval from the
radiance data and the height resolution· obtained
is 3-12 km (Ref. 30). Barnett and Comey30 have
reported temperature differences of maximum of
about 8 K at about 54 km and about 5 K at
lower levels between the rocketsonde and satellite
measurements over Fort Churchill (59"N, 94"W)
 ." .._.~ ... -''' •• ''''''.' ' ••·'''''n ••••• , "" "'",' '11"'1"1'1 ll"'" .', I fl .•••• lllIlW1IIl1f I,,·It

310 INDIAN J RADIO & SPACE PHYS, OCTOBER 1994

~Table 1.~
6.1
2.5
5.1
6.2
1.3
2.1
1.9
2.8
1.6
1.0
7.8
7.9
4.3
2'.5
3.0
1.5
1.4
3.1
1.6
1.7
6.9
5.2
2.4
5.0
4.5
2.6
2.3
4.7
6.8
6.0
4.4
1.7
3.2
3.6
2.4
4.4
1.4
5.7
1.3
1.8
4.8
Oct.
Oct.
2.0
9.5
6.5
6.5
3.4
2.9
3.2
3.6
4.6
4.0
3.8
3.8
1.8
4.9
8.9
2.2
5.8
2.3
1.3
6.3
5.6
1.C
1.4
5.3
3.3
9.7
2.2
6.4
1.8
1.2
2.1
2.5
2.1
4.2
2.7
3.5
2.7 62
45
42.6
7.3
70.8
5
.3
6.1
6.7
67
4.4
3.5
47.5
7.0
41
2.0
1
1.5
56.2
.9
2.2
7
3.3
2.3
7.6
7.4
7.2
43
44.4
.0
4.6
57
10.0
7
8.2
4
3
48
61
5
73
51
64
11.5
2.2
1.5
1.6
2.2
1.1
1.9
2.6
1.6
1.4
1.8
2.0
3.9
1.9
July
Apr.
Apr. 9
.7
6.5
5.6
6.4
49
508
4.2
46
3.8
2
4.1
3.4
60
6.9
6 3
4
4.5
2
6.3
6.6
69
58.1
1
5.5
6.2
4.9
556
6.0
4.0
Jan.
Height
2-Standard ~
.
...\ \,.,• of the temperatures (K) about the
0Jan.deviations
.1 "'!Y' km montWy means at Trivandrum (8.5°N, 77"£) for the months of
;* January, April, July and October

and Volgograd (49°N, 44°E). Thus the large dif- ed that longitudinal variation as large as 20 K can
ferences in (7;ef - CIRA 86) in the mesosphere occur in the upper mesosphere in the equatorial
shown in Fig. 9 might arise partly from the differ- region and for this study they have utilized ultra-
ence in measurement techniques. violet Limb radiance data from the Solar Mesos-
-
Another source of these differences in phere Explorer (SME) satellite. The temperature
( 1;ef - CIRA 86) may be the large longitudinal profiles of CIRA 86 are the zonal mean profiles,
variation of temperature in the equatorial mesos- whereas 7;ef temperature profiles are for the 77°E
phere. Recently, Clancy and Rusch13 have report- 'longitude. Thus the longitudinal variation of the

I" , I 1 '" I 'I I' ",' HlII'I"'I'II '1', liliU 1111111111 111'11111
lilllllill III ,.1"ILII. J'"
 SASI: A REFERENCE ATMOSPHERE
thermal structure can account for some of the dif-
ferences in (Tref - CIRA 86) in the mesosphere as
shown in Fig. 9.
As discussed by Sasi and Krishna Murthy27,
large diurnal tidal amplitudes exist in the middle
atmospheric temperatures over Trivandrum. The
rocket (M-lOO/M-lOOB)launchings were done al
fixed times on Wednesdays (at 2000 hrs 1ST from
1971 to 1975, at 1930 hrs 1ST from 1976 to
1984, and at 1710 hrs 1ST from 1984 to 1986).
This introduced a bias in the rocket-measured
temperatures, especially in the mesosphere where
maximum diurnal amplitudes of 8-9 K exist. The
CIRA 86 data on the other hand consist of tem-
perature data averaged in longitude as well as in
local time (over several orbits). Thus the influence
of tides can also partly account for the differences
in ( 1;ef - CIRA 86) seen in the mesosphere.
Further, 1;ef consists of only a mean tempera-
ture and annual, semiannual and terannual oscill-
ations superimposed on the mean value, and the
QBO and solar cycle related variations are treat-
ed as perturbations on the monthly mean values
of 1;ef" But CIRA 86 profiles are based on the
data from January 1973 to July 1978 and include
the effects of QBO and solar cycle related var-
iations also. The QBO and solar cycle variations
in the mesosphere are in the range 1.5-5 K. The
data base for the CIRA 86 profiles belongs to the
ascending phase of the solar cycle and this can
also influence the CIRA 86 temperature profiles.
Thus most of the differences between 1;~fand
CIRA 86 temperature profiles may be attributed
to longitudinal variability, differences between
rocketsonde and satellite measurements, tidal in-
fluences, and QBO and solar cycle related var-
iations.
8 Summary and conclusions
(1) A reference atmosphere (temperature, pres-
sure and density) in the height range 0-80 km,
applicable for Indian equatorial zone, has been
developed. The monthly mean profiles of the at-
mospheric parameters can be generated using a
set of seven coefficients [a long-term annual
mean, amplitudes and phases of annual oscillation
(AO), semiannual oscillation (SAO), and terannual
oscillation (TAO) of temperature] at every
kilometre height. These coefficients have been
derived using temperature data obtained from in
situ measurements by meteorological balloons and
M-100/M-100B rockets at Trivandrum (8SN,
77"£) from 1971 to 1986.
(2) The set of seven coefficients used for gene-
rating the reference model atmosphere shows
FOR THE INDIAN EQUATORIAL ZONE 311
significant year-to-year variation over the 16-year
period from 1971 to 1986. However, the mean
values of the amplitudes and phases of AO, SAO
and TAO show very good agreement with the
value~ reported by Nastrom and Belmont22 in the
20-65 km region.
(3) A comparative study of this reference mod-
el atmosphere with the recent CIRA 86 reference
atmospheres, based on satellite data, shows that
very significant differences exist between the two
in the mesosphere. These differences might be
due to (i) longitudinal asymmetry of the thermal
structure in the equatorial mesosphere, (ii) long-
temi variations such as QBO and solar cycle re-
lated variations, (ill) short-term variations such as
diurnal tides, and (iv) differences between rocket-
sonde and satellite measurements of temperature.
Acknowledgements
The author is very grateful to Dr V Narayanan,
TERLS, IREX, for making available the tempera-
ture data used in this study. He is also thankful to
Dr B V Krishna Murthy, Space Physics Labora-
tory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, for very
fruitful and stimulating discussions he has had
with him during the preparation of the manu-
script. The helpful and critical comments by the
referees have helped very much in improving the
revised manuscript.
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