[1] Thermospheric neutral density and composition exhibit a strong seasonal variation, with maxima near the equinoxes, a primary minimum during northern hemisphere summer, and a secondary minimum during southern hemisphere summer. This pattern of variation is described by thermospheric empirical models. However, the mechanisms are not well understood. The annual insolation variation due to the Sun-Earth distance can cause an annual variation, large-scale interhemispheric circulation can cause a global semiannual variation, and geomagnetic activity can also have a small contribution to the semiannual amplitude. However, simulations by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Electrodynamics General Circulation Model (TIE-GCM) indicates that these seasonal effects do not fully account for the observed annual/semiannual amplitude, primarily because of the lack of a minimum during northern hemisphere summer. A candidate for causing this variation is a change in composition, driven by eddy mixing in the mesopause region. Other observations and model studies suggest that eddy diffusion in the mesopause region has a strong seasonal variation, with eddy diffusion larger during solstices than equinoxes, and stronger turbulence in summer than in winter. A seasonal variation of eddy diffusion compatible with this description is obtained. Simulations show that when this function is imposed at the lower boundary of the TIE-GCM, neutral density variation consistent with satellite drag data and O/N 2 consistent with measurements by TIMED/GUVI, are obtained. These model-data comparisons and analyses indicate that turbulent mixing originated from the lower atmosphere may contribute to seasonal variation in the thermosphere, particularly the asymmetry between solstices that cannot be explained by other mechanisms.

[1] Recent measurements of the solar extreme-ultraviolet spectrum provide highresolution spectral irradiance that can be used for calculating ionization and dissociation rates in the upper atmosphere and for providing improved proxy-based models of the solar spectrum. These are crucial inputs for global time-dependent general circulation models of the thermosphere and ionosphere, but computational economies require that a lowerresolution spectrum be used in the calculations without excessive loss of accuracy. The problem is compounded by the photoelectrons generated by ionization, which cause further ionization and dissociation of atmospheric gases. We describe a method for using solar spectral measurements or models to calculate ionization and dissociation rates throughout the upper atmosphere, including photoelectron effects, that is more accurate and more efficient than its predecessors. Examples of use with measurements from the Solar EUV Experiment on the TIMED satellite and with the EUVAC model are given, and an example calculation using the National Center for Atmospheric Research thermosphere-ionosphere-electrodynamics general circulation model is shown.

Solar activity during 2007–2009 was very low, and during this protracted solar minimum period, the terrestrial thermosphere was cooler and lower in density than expected. Measurements from instruments on the SOHO and TIMED spacecraft, and by suborbital rocket flights, indicate that solar extreme‐ultraviolet irradiance levels were lower than they were during the previous solar minimum. Analysis of atmospheric drag on satellite orbits indicate that the thermosphere was lower in density, and therefore cooler, and than at any time since the beginning of the space age. However, secular change due to increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which cool the upper atmosphere, also plays a role in thermospheric climate. Simulations by the NCAR Thermosphere‐Ionosphere‐Electrodynamics General Circulation Model are compared to thermospheric density measurements, yielding evidence that the primary cause of the low thermospheric density was the unusually low level of solar extreme‐ultraviolet irradiance.