Comparison and Analysis of Neutral Wind Observations from Meteor and MF Radars at Low Latitude in the Northern Hemisphere

Accurate wind measurements in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region are essential for climate modeling, satellite drag estimation, and space weather prediction. This study presents a comprehensive comparison and correlation analysis of the zonal and meridional wind observations from co-located meteor radar and medium-frequency (MF) radar systems in Kunming (102.1°E, 24.2°N), China, in the year 2022. Both zonal and meridional wind components were analyzed within the overlapping altitude range of 70–100 km. Statistical distributions of the wind speeds from both radars followed a near-Gaussian pattern concentrated within ±100 m/s, indicating good consistency. A joint dataset was constructed for the 78–100 km range, where over 2000 h of concurrent observations were available. The strongest correlation between the wind speed measurements of the two radars was ~0.6, which occurred near 82–84 km. Seasonal analysis further indicated better consistency in the winter and spring months, while the summer months exhibited reduced correlations, especially for zonal wind measurements. Systematic biases between the two instruments were also identified, with minimal intercept offsets observed from April to October. This study is valuable in the development of high-quality, long-term MLT wind field datasets for atmospheric research and numerical model validation.