Satellite observations of the nitric oxide dayglow: Implications for the behavior of mesospheric and lower‐thermospheric odd nitrogen

Frederick, John E.; Serafino, G.

doi:10.1029/jd090id02p03821

Cited by 10 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 17 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…There is a known contamination to the channel 1 albedo from the nitric oxide (1,4) gamma band near 255 nm [Frederick and Abrams, 1982;Frederick and Serafino, 1985;McPeters, 1989]. At high latitudes in summer this effect is very minor, less than 2-3% even at large solar zenith angles.…”

Section: Cloud Deltlwion Algorithmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Satellite observations of polar mesospheric clouds by the solar backscattered ultraviolet spectral radiometer: Evidence of a solar cycle dependence

Thomas¹,

McPeters²,

Jensen³

1991

J. Geophys. Res.

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Measurements from space of the Earth's ultraviolet albedo are affected by scattering of sunlight from polar mesospheric clouds (PMC). We have examined 8 years of solar backscattered ultraviolet (SBUV) albedo data and find evidence of an annual occurrence of PMC in the summertime polar cap regions of both hemispheres. We have devised a cloud selection algorithm based upon the expected spectral properties of PMC scattering and show that the albedo residuals selected by this algorithm, at least above some threshold brightness, possess the basic properties of PMC with regard to their brightness levels, their seasonal characteristics, and latitude variation. Because of the uniform sampling of the polar caps, particularly in the southern hemisphere, it is possible to examine year-to-year variations in PMC activity. We find that a significant trend is present in the PMC occurrence frequency values over the period 1978 to 1986. The increase (up to a factor of 10 at some brightness levels) in the occurrence frequency from solar maximum to solar minimum conditions indicates an anticorrelation with solar activity, an effect that also appears to be present in noctilucent cloud sightings over the past several decades. Garcia [1989] suggested that PMC should be modulated by changes in the solar Lyman-alpha (121.6 nm) flux through its strong photodissociation control of upper mesospheric water vapor. Solar Lyman-alpha underwent a significant (50%) variation during this period. Our results confirm this expectation, and thus indirectly support the current theories of PMC formation. However, other influences such as long-term changes of mesopause temperature or dynamics cannot be ruled out. We have identified two kinds of hemispherical asymmetries: the first, that PMC in the northern hemisphere is significantly brighter than in the south is consistent with previous results derived from Solar Mesosphere Explorer data; and the second, that the solar cycle response in the south is more pronounced than in the north. We show that if PMC scattering is not taken into account in the SBUV ozone retrieval algorithm, systematic errors of order 10% can occur in derived ozone concentration in the 40-50 km region of the summer polar cap.

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Section: Cloud Deltlwion Algorithmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Satellite observations of polar mesospheric clouds by the solar backscattered ultraviolet spectral radiometer: Evidence of a solar cycle dependence

Thomas¹,

McPeters²,

Jensen³

1991

J. Geophys. Res.

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“…Careful analysis of these spectral features allows us to infer NO amounts. Frederick and Serafino [1985] analyzed SBUV step scan data to determine NO climatology. They take advantage of the fact that the shortest step scan wavelength, 255.7 nm, overlaps the (14) NO gamma band.…”

Section: Band Strengthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatology of nitric oxide in the upper stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere: 1979 through 1986

McPeters¹

1989

J. Geophys. Res.

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Spectral scan data from the solar backscattered ultraviolet (SBUV) instrument on Nimbus 7 for the wavelength range 200–400 nm have been analyzed to determine the strengths of several of the nitric oxide (NO) gamma band fluorescence features as a function of time and of latitude. The integrated column amount of nitric oxide above an altitude of approximately 45–50 km is inferred from analysis of the strengths of the (10), (01), and (02) nitric oxide gamma bands. Analysis shows that there are about 5 – 6 × 1014 molecules cm−2 of nitric oxide cumulative above 48 km over a wide range of latitudes, increasing sharply near the winter terminator by about a factor of 3 to 12 – 15 × 1014 molecules cm−2. Between 1979 and 1986, column NO near the equator decreased by about a factor of 2, from 6.4 × 1014 molecules cm−2 to 3.3 × 1014 molecules cm−2. The time dependence of the decrease correlates well with solar activity, following the decline in solar activity from solar maximum in 1979 to solar minimum in 1985–1986. At middle and high latitudes, NO appears to have reached a maximum in 1982–1983, a few years after the solar cycle maximum, and has decreased since, but the magnitude of the trend is smaller.

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“…Satellite measurements of nitric oxide (NO) were first done with the SBUV spectrometer on board the Nimbus 7 satellite by Frederick and Serafino (1985) in nadir geometry using the NO (1,4) gamma emission at 255 nm. Further previous satellite experiments using the NO gamma bands in the ultra-violet spectral range include the Student Nitric Oxide Explorer (SNOE, Barth et al, 2003) which measured nitric oxide in the thermosphere (97 to 150 km) from March 1998until December 2003.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Retrieval of nitric oxide in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere from SCIAMACHY limb spectra

et al. 2013

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Abstract. We use the ultra-violet (UV) spectra in the range 230-300 nm from the SCanning Imaging Absorption spectroMeter for Atmospheric CHartographY (SCIAMACHY) to retrieve the nitric oxide (NO) number densities from atmospheric emissions in the gamma-bands in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere. Using 3-D ray tracing, a 2-D retrieval grid, and regularisation with respect to altitude and latitude, we retrieve a whole semi-orbit simultaneously for the altitude range from 60 to 160 km.We present details of the retrieval algorithm, first results, and initial comparisons to data from the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS). Our results agree on average well with MIPAS data and are in line with previously published measurements from other instruments. For the time of available measurements in 2008-2011, we achieve a vertical resolution of 5-10 km in the altitude range 70-140 km and a horizontal resolution of about 9 • from 60 • S-60 • N. With this we have independent measurements of the NO densities in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere with approximately global coverage. This data can be further used to validate climate models or as input for them.

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Satellite observations of the nitric oxide dayglow: Implications for the behavior of mesospheric and lower‐thermospheric odd nitrogen

Cited by 10 publications

References 17 publications

Satellite observations of polar mesospheric clouds by the solar backscattered ultraviolet spectral radiometer: Evidence of a solar cycle dependence

Satellite observations of polar mesospheric clouds by the solar backscattered ultraviolet spectral radiometer: Evidence of a solar cycle dependence

Climatology of nitric oxide in the upper stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere: 1979 through 1986

Retrieval of nitric oxide in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere from SCIAMACHY limb spectra

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