The role of eddy turbulence in the development of self-consistent models of the lower and upper thermospheres

Numerical solutions of mutually coupled time-dependent equations of continuity, momentum, and energy balance are presented to illustrate the effect of eddy turbulence on the neutral composition and temperature of the lower and upper thermospheres. The procedure adopted in this paper eliminates the necessity of making ad hoc assumptions about the conditions at the turbopause level and allows the study of the two regions in a self-consistent manner. From the illustrative examples comprising parametric changes in the eddy diffusion coefficient the specific roles of eddy turbulence in the development of theoretical models of the thermosphere are discussed.