A zonally averaged numerical model of the thermosphere is used to examine the coupling between neutral composition, including N2, O2 and O, temperature, and winds at solstice for solar minimum conditions. The meridional circulation forced by solar heating results in a summer-to-winter flow, with a winter enhancement in atomic oxygen density that is a factor of about 1.8 greater than the summer hemisphere at 160 km. The O2 and N2 variations are associated with a latitudinal gradient in total number density, which is required to achieve pressure balance in the presence of large zonal jets. Latitudinal profiles OI (5577¿) green line emission intensity are calculated by using both Chapman and Barth mechanisms. Composition of the lower thermosphere is shown to be strongly influenced by circulation patterns initiated in the stratosphere and lower mesosphere, below the lower boundary used in the model.