OH observations of space shuttle exhaust

Stevens, M. H.; Englert, Christoph; Gumbel, J.

doi:10.1029/2002gl015079

Cited by 15 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…The hydroxyl signature of the shuttle plume is the first Meinel band emission of a shuttle plume recorded by SABER. Shuttle plume hydroxyl emission had previously been observed at 308 nm by MAHRSI aboard STS‐66 [ Stevens et al , 2002]. The slight separation in the peak altitudes of the two different OH Meinel wavelengths has previously been reported in the literature [ Winick et al , 2009].…”

Section: Observationsmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…As described in a continuing series of articles, there have been several unexpected observations of shuttle exhaust plumes at locations distant from the launch site off the Florida coast. STS‐66, launched on 3 November 1994, carried onboard instrumentation to measure the global distribution of hydroxyl airglow and surprisingly observed the hydroxyl signature of its own launch in the Arctic 1 day into the mission [ Stevens et al , 2002]. The mean meridional speed inferred from the measurements was as high as 40 m/s northward.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Verification of large-scale rapid transport in the lower thermosphere: Tracking the exhaust plume of STS-107 from launch to the Antarctic

et al. 2011

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[1] New analysis of the Doppler shift of O 2 airglow spectra recorded by the TIMED Doppler Interferometer (TIDI) and the High Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI) have provided conclusive evidence that the shuttle main engine exhaust plume generated in the lower thermosphere by the launch of STS-107 and imaged by the Global Ultraviolet Imager (GUVI) instrument on TIMED was transported to the Antarctic in ∼80 h, supporting a key inference from the initial study by Stevens et al. (2005). These new results were aided by improved knowledge of the effects of instrumental and satellite artifacts imposed on the Doppler spectra. STS-107 launched on 16 January 2003, and the neutral wind near its launch trajectory and nearby volume was sampled within minutes by TIDI. These initial observations suggested that the northernmost end of the shuttle's exhaust plume would move northeast and that the southern end would move southeast, motions that were identified in imagery acquired during the next orbit of TIMED. The direction and magnitude of plume motion inferred from GUVI images obtained 12, 26, and 50 h after launch were again confirmed by TIDI and HRDI. The appearance of the plume over the Antarctic ∼80 h after launch, inferred from earlier work by the appearance of iron ablated from the shuttle's main engines, was consistent with neutral winds measured by the satellite Doppler instruments over the Antarctic. The transport of the plume from the coast of Florida to the Antarctic was aided by the favorable phase and strong amplitude of a 2 day planetary wave of wave number three in the southern hemisphere on 18 January 2003. The existence of the 2 day wave was deduced from zonally averaged and combined TIDI and HRDI neutral wind observations. We conclude that the existence of strong and sustained winds in the MLT, significantly greater than expected from empirical and theoretical models, is indisputable and provides compelling evidence supporting the global-scale nature of thermospheric winds with magnitude greater than 100 m/s observed by Larsen (2002) from 40 years of sounding rocket chemical release experiments.

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Section: Observationsmentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Verification of large-scale rapid transport in the lower thermosphere: Tracking the exhaust plume of STS-107 from launch to the Antarctic

et al. 2011

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“…In particular, the mesospheric OH deficit [ Summers et al , 1997; Conway et al , 1999] and the HO x dilemma (which considered both upper stratospheric and mesospheric data) [ Conway et al , 2000], all of which rely on the absolute OH densities inferred by MAHRSI, should be revisited. On the other hand, the discovery of the Arctic summer mesosphere water vapor layer at the base of the PMC altitudes [ Summers et al , 2001], the first observations of ice particles formed by space shuttle exhaust [ Stevens et al , 2002], space shuttle exhaust contributing to polar mesospheric clouds, and the unexpected transport speed of space shuttle plumes [ Stevens et al , 2003] fundamentally do not rely on the absolute calibration of MAHRSI. Thus, these conclusions from the MAHRSI data should in principle remain unaffected.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Heterodyne Imager for Mesospheric Radicals on STPSat‐1

et al. 2010

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[1] The Spatial Heterodyne Imager for Mesospheric Radicals (SHIMMER) was a high-resolution, near ultraviolet spectrometer that imaged the Earth's limb for 2.5 years between March 2007 and October 2009. The instrument used the Spatial Heterodyne Spectroscopy technique for the first time on a satellite and successfully demonstrated its capabilities. SHIMMER measured the solar resonance fluorescence of the OH A 2 S + -X 2 P (0, 0) band around 309 nm, which allows the retrieval of mesospheric OH density profiles. It also measured the Rayleigh scattered background from the clear atmosphere and solar scattering from polar mesospheric cloud particles. We present details on the SHIMMER mission, the payload design, and the data analysis. A comparison between SHIMMER and concurrent Microwave Limb Sounder OH data shows good agreement between 60 and 90 km altitude for several latitudes and seasons. We also find good agreement of the SHIMMER OH densities and standard photochemical model calculations between 60 and 80 km. We find no evidence of a 25%-35% mesospheric OH deficit, previously reported using Middle Atmosphere High-Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI) OH data. However, independent analysis of Rayleigh scattered background signals observed by SHIMMER and MAHRSI under similar lighting conditions revealed that MAHRSI radiances are systematically smaller than SHIMMER radiances by 24%. Although this difference is well outside of the combined uncertainties for both experiments, the agreement of SHIMMER OH with Microwave Limb Sounder OH and standard photochemistry results, together with our Rayleigh scattering comparison, suggests an unidentified MAHRSI calibration problem that effectively eliminates the mesospheric OH deficit reported using MAHRSI observations.

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“…A cause and effect study of launch vehicle plumes forming PMCs is currently hampered by limited synoptic water vapor observations above 90 km and an incomplete understanding of plume transport in this region of the atmosphere. In particular, mean meridional winds between 90 and 140 km as inferred from plume transport are much faster than what is typically reported from climatologies or general circulation models [ Stevens et al , 2002, 2003; Siskind et al , 2003]. Results from chemical release experiments, however, consistently show remarkably strong winds between 100 and 110 km with large shears [ Larsen , 2002].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The polar mesospheric cloud mass in the Arctic summer

Stevens¹,

Englert²,

DeLand

et al. 2005

J. Geophys. Res.

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[1] We infer the polar mesospheric cloud (PMC) mass throughout the Arctic summer using results from two sets of satellite observations and a microphysical model. Solar backscatter ultraviolet (SBUV) PMC observations in July 1999 indicate a burst of activity persisting for $8 days after a space shuttle launch and averaging 262 ± 52 t near 4.7 local time. This mass is consistent with the propellant mass available from the shuttle's main engines and accounts for 22% of the total SBUV PMC mass over the season between 65°and 75°N. This is the first evidence that PMCs formed by space shuttle water exhaust can contribute significantly to both the number of observed PMCs and the total PMC mass in a season. In another approach, 11 years of observations by the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) indicate that on average 90 ± 12 t of water ice is present near local midnight between 65°and 75°N. Using simultaneous HALOE water vapor observations, we find that a one-dimensional microphysical model reproduces the start and end of the PMC season but overpredicts the ice mass by about a factor of 1.8 when compared with the observations. This overprediction is within the time-dependent variability of ice formation and the uncertainties of temperature, water vapor, and vertical winds used to initialize the model.

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OH observations of space shuttle exhaust

Cited by 15 publications

References 18 publications

Verification of large-scale rapid transport in the lower thermosphere: Tracking the exhaust plume of STS-107 from launch to the Antarctic

Verification of large-scale rapid transport in the lower thermosphere: Tracking the exhaust plume of STS-107 from launch to the Antarctic

Spatial Heterodyne Imager for Mesospheric Radicals on STPSat‐1

The polar mesospheric cloud mass in the Arctic summer

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