Comparison of TIDI Line of Sight Winds With ICON‐MIGHTI Measurements

Abstract

AbstractThe Thermosphere‐Ionosphere‐Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite has been making observations of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region for two decades. The TIMED Doppler Interferometer (TIDI) measures the neutral winds using four orthogonal telescopes. In this study, the line of sight (LOS) winds from individual telescopes are compared to the measurements from the Ionospheric Connection Explorer's (ICON's) Michelson Interferometer for Global High‐resolution Thermospheric Imaging (MIGHTI) instrument from 90 to 100 km altitude during 2020. With the MIGHTI vector winds projected onto the LOS direction of each TIDI telescope, coincidences of the two data sets are found. The four telescopes perform differently and the performance depends on the satellite configuration and local solar zenith angle. Measurements from the coldside telescopes, Telescope 1 (Tel1) and Telescope 2 (Tel2), are better correlated with the MIGHTI winds in general with Tel2 having higher correlation coefficients across all conditions. The performance of Tel1 is comparable to that of Tel2 during backward flight while showing systematic errors larger than the average wind speeds during forward flight. The warmside LOS winds from Telescope 3 (Tel3) and Telescope 4 (Tel4) vary widely in magnitude, especially on the nightside. Compared with MIGHTI winds, the Tel4 measurements have the weakest correlation, while the Tel3 performance is comparable to that of the coldside telescopes during the ascending phase but deteriorates during the descending phase. Based on the TIDI/MIGHTI comparisons, figures of merit are generated to quantify the quality of measurements from individual telescopes in different configurations.