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Meteor radar measurements of winds near 95 km in four azimuth directions from the geographic South Pole are analyzed to reveal characteristics of the 12-h oscillation with zonal wavenumber one (<i>s</i>=1). The wind measurements are confined to the periods from 19 January 1995 through 26 January 1996 and from 21 November 1996 through 27 January 1997. The 12-h <i>s</i>=1 oscillation is found to be a predominantly summertime phenomenon, and is replaced in winter by a spectrum of oscillations with periods between 6 and 11.5 h. Both summers are characterized by minimum amplitudes (5–10 ms^–1) during early January and maxima (15–20 ms^–1) in November and late January. For 10-day means of the 12-h oscillation, smooth evolutions of phase of order 4–6 h occur during the course of the summer. In addition, there is considerable day-to-day variability (±5–10 ms^–1 in amplitude) with distinct periods (i.e., ~5 days and ~8 days) which suggests modulation by planetary-scale disturbances. A comparison of climatological data from Scott Base, Molodezhnaya, and Mawson stations suggests that the 12-h oscillation near 78°S is <i>s</i>=1, but that at 68°S there is probably a mixture between <i>s</i>=1 and other zonal wavenumber oscillations (most probably <i>s</i>=2). The mechanism responsible for the existence of the 12-h <i>s</i>=1 oscillation has not yet been identified. Possible origins discussed herein include in situ excitation, nonlinear interaction between the migrating semidiurnal tide and a stationary <i>s</i>=1 feature, and thermal excitation in the troposphere.<br><br><b>Key words. </b>Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics · Middle atmosphere dynamics · Thermospheric dynamics · Waves and tides