RADAR WIND PROFILER OBSERVATIONS OF SOLAR SEMIDIURNAL ATMOSPHERIC TIDES

Semidiurnal solar tides in the mid-latitude troposphere are investigat ed using harmonic analysis of 404 MHz radar profiler wind data obtaine d from a wide longitude zone in the U.S. The tides are apparent above a 1000-m-deep surface layer and increase in amplitude with height, att aining speeds of 0.5-0.7 m/s at 5-7 km. Observed wind characteristics agree well with tidal characteristics obtained with a dynamical model driven by observed global semidiurnal horizontal pressure gradients.