Five years of winds measurements obtained by a SkiYmet meteor radar at Cachoeira Paulista (22.7ºS, 45.0ºW) are used to investigate the terdiurnal tide. This type of tide is frequently observed in the meteor region but the mechanisms responsible for its production are not yet completely explained. Among the possible causes are solar direct forcing and nonlinear interactions between the diurnal and semidiurnal tides. Nonlinear interaction between diurnal and semidiurnal tides can generate two secondary waves: a diurnal tide and a terdiurnal tide. The origin and seasonal distribution of the terdiurnal tide may indicate the presence of a secondary diurnal tide as a cause of variability in the primary diurnal tide. In this work we analyze the winds data in search of evidence for these mechanisms.
atmosphere; nonlinear interaction between waves; atmospheric tides
