Observations of molecular oxygen Atmospheric band emission in the thermosphere using the near infrared spectrometer on the ISS/RAIDS experiment

Abstract

[1] Observations of airglow emission using the RAIDS (Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric Detection System) instruments on the International Space Station Kibo module are reported and compared to a photochemical model of the emission process.

O2($b^1 \Sigma _g^ +$b1Σg+, υ = 0, 1) relative yields in O(1D) + O2 energy transfer

“…7,8 Recent observations of the Atmospheric band emission from the International Space Station have been used to determine altitude profiles of the temperature in the lower thermosphere. 9,10 Detailed knowledge of the relevant production and removal processes of O 2 (b 1 + g ) by atmospheric colliders is essential for modeling and correctly interpreting the altitude profiles of the Atmospheric band emission. 11 Energy transfer from O( 1 D) to O 2 is rapid and generates O 2 in the υ = 0 and 1 levels of the b 1 + g state with a total yield near unity, while direct production of O 2 (b 1 + g , υ ≥ 2) and O 2 (a 1 g ) is small: 12,13 O( 1 D)…”

Retrieval of O<sub>2</sub>(<sup>1</sup>Σ) and O<sub>2</sub>(<sup>1</sup>Δ) volume emission rates in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere using SCIAMACHY MLT limb scans

“…The TIMED Doppler Interferometer (TIDI) on the Thermosphere-IonosphereMesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite (Killeen et al, 2006) performed remote sensing measurements of upper atmosphere winds and temperatures based on O 2 ( 1 ) emission. The Remote Atmospheric and Ionospheric Detection System (RAIDS) on the International Space Station's Kibo module (Christensen et al, 2012) measured the limb brightness of the O 2 ( 1 ) (0,0), (0,1), and (1,1) vibrational band emissions from 80 to 180 km. The Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imaging System (OSIRIS), onboard the Odin satellite (Sheese et al, 2010), was used to derive temperatures in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region (MLT) from O 2 ( 1 ).…”

The O2(b1Σ) dayglow emissions: application to middle and upper atmosphere remote sensing1This article is part of a Special issue that honours the work of Dr. Donald M. Hunten FRSC who passed away in December 2010 after a very illustrious career.

“…However, because this band is completely absorbed by the lower atmosphere, most of the ground-based measurements have thus been limited to the (0-1) band. Spacebased (0-0) band observations have been made by instruments aboard rockets [13][14][15][16][17], satellites, such as the Dynamics Explorer (DE) [18], UARS [5,6], TIMED [8], the Shuttle [19,20], and most recently, the International Space Station [9]. Emissions from the O 2 (0-0) and (0-1) bands, however, are only representative of the density of molecules in the ground vibrational state ( 0 D 0).…”

“…Lately this critical knowledge has improved significantly through many dedicated laboratory measurements and theoretical calculations and has begun to be tested through comparisons of model predictions with ground-based and space-borne airglow observations. In addition, the utility of this O 2 airglow for atmospheric sensing has been extended from previously-focused mesospheric altitudes to the thermosphere [9]. An accurate O 2 atmospheric band model that properly considers the photochemistry, vibrational and rotational kinetics is needed to assess its upper atmospheric sensing applicability.…”

“…Because of its extended altitude coverage and bright signal, this emission provides one of the best spectral features for middle and upper atmosphere remote sensing. The pioneering work by Wallace and Hunten on its photochemistry and spectroscopic properties laid the foundation for many of the successful atmospheric sensing techniques developed and employed in rocket and satellite observational programs [4][5][6][7][8][9]. The absorption properties of the O 2 bands have also been applied to sensing of the terrestrial lower atmosphere (e.g., SCIA-MACHY [10], OCO [11]), and planetary atmospheres (e.g., the search for O 2 by Belton and Hunten [12]).…”