Investigating Connections Between Tropical Tropospheric Convection and Thermospheric Intra-seasonal Variability of Wind and Temperature Profiles

Coupling between the lower atmosphere (~0-20 km) and the thermosphere (100-500 km) on intra-seasonal (IS, ~30-90 days) time scales is an accelerating area of research that has the potential to improve the collective model of whole-atmosphere behavior. Recent research from the aeronomy community has investigated the effects of upward propagating waves originating from deep convection in the tropical troposphere on thermospheric IS variability. Convection associated with the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) has been shown to modulate a range of waves including tides, gravity waves, and ultra-fast kelvin waves which may in turn modulate thermospheric IS variability of temperature and zonal and meridional wind profiles. This work expands on previous research by incorporating temperature and wind field observations from the MIGHTI (Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging) instrument on the ICON (Ionosphere Connection Explorer) satellite and temperature data from the SABER (Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry) instrument on the TIMED (Thermosphere • Ionosphere • Mesosphere • Energetics and Dynamics) satellite. TIE-GCM (Thermosphere Ionosphere Electrodynamics General Circulation Model) model data is also compared with observational results. Correlation analyses were performed between the observed and modeled data and the RMM (Realtime Multivariate MJO) index which quantifies the phase and intensity of the MJO. Correlation analysis was also performed to control for the effects of space weather, including Kp values and incoming 10.7 cm radiation flux (F10.7), in an effort to isolate instances of correlation between the RMM and thermospheric IS variability.