1,2,1,2,3,7,1,2,5,6,- 1CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- 2CAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology, Anhui Mengcheng Geophysics National Observation and Research Station, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- 3Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- 5ATRAD Pty Ltd., Underdale, SA 5032, Australia
- 6School of Physical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- 7School of Microelectronics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
Middle atmospheric wind observations long enough to resolve solar-cycle effects remain scarce, especially in the Southern Hemisphere. Using 15 years (2000–2014) of MF radar winds at Buckland Park (34.3°S, 138.3°E), we identify a pronounced zonal-wind annual oscillation (AO) centered at 50–80 km with peak amplitudes up to ~40 m s⁻¹. The AO amplitude weakens from 2000–2009 and recovers after 2011, broadly in phase with the 11-year solar cycle. SABER temperatures show solar-cycle–like mesospheric anomalies, consistent with thermally driven changes in the propagation and dissipation conditions for gravity waves. Together with diagnosed gravity-wave activity/forcing metrics, these results provide observational evidence that solar variability modulates southern midlatitude mesospheric winds through a thermally mediated gravity-wave pathway
How to cite: Li, J., Yi, W., Xue, X., Wang, J., Wu, J., Reid, L., and Ye, H.: First Observations of a Strong Solar Cycle in Middle Atmospheric Wind at Southern Midlatitudes, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-18494, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-18494, 2026.
