Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
AMT
Articles | Volume 18, issue 22
Articles | Volume 18, issue 22
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-6959-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-6959-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 18, issue 22
Research article
 | 
24 Nov 2025
Research article |  | 24 Nov 2025

Impact of lower atmospheric scattering on ground-based optical thermospheric wind observations with spatially uneven airglow

Xiaolong Wei, Guoying Jiang, Yajun Zhu, Jiyao Xu, Weijun Liu, Tiancai Wang, Guangyi Zhu, and Wei Yuan

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Cited articles

Abreu, V. J., Schmitt, G. A., Hays, P. B., Meriwether, J. W., Tepley, C. A., and Cogger, L. L.: Atmospheric Scattering Effects on Ground-Based Measurements of Thermospheric Winds, Planet Space Sci., 31, 303–310, https://doi.org/10.1016/0032-0633(83)90080-6, 1983. 
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Ashburn, E. V.: The Effect of Rayleigh Scattering and Ground Reflection Upon the Determination of the Height of the Night Airglow, J. Atmos. Terr. Phys., 5, 83–91, https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-9169(54)90012-4, 1954. 
Biondi, M. A. and Feibelman, W. A.: Twilight and nightglow spectral line shapes of oxygen λ6300 and λ5577 radiation, Planet Space Sci., 16, 431–443, https://doi.org/10.1016/0032-0633(68)90158-X, 1968. 
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Scattered airglow can bias thermospheric wind observations by ground-based interferometers, especially when brightness is spatially uneven due to auroras. We simulated lower atmospheric scattering during two mid-latitude auroral events and confirmed that scattering can lead to line-of-sight speed biases, thereby increasing the horizontal differences between opposite cardinal directions. This scattering impact needs to be carefully considered in thermospheric dynamics analysis.
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