MEAN ZONAL TEMPERATURE-FIELD IN THE GLOBAL MIDDLE ATMOSPHERE AND ITS PERIODICITY

The rocketsonde-derived temperature data over ten years (1969-1980) we re used to study amplitudes and phases of annual and semiannual mean z onal temperature variations in the stratosphere and lower mesosphere o f both hemispheres. A comparison of two modern simulations of vertical and latitudinal temperature distribution in the middle atmosphere rev ealed their significant dissimilarity (1) in the middle and upper stra to-mesosphere of high latitudes of the Northern hemisphere, depending on the season, and (2) in the upper mesosphere of low and middle latit udes of the Southern hemisphere.