The airglow continuum at high latitudes—An estimate of the NO concentration

Witt, G.; Rose, Julian; Llewellyn, E. J.

doi:10.1029/ja086ia02p00623

Cited by 26 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…2), and the variability of the neutral atmosphere density and temperature, the peak NO number density inferred from the photometric measurements on ECOMA7 is between 3.7×10 8 cm −3 and 6.0×10 8 cm −3 . This is in agreement with other measurements at high latitudes reported from both rockets (Witt et al, 1981;Iwagami and Ogawa, 1980;McDade et al, 1986a) and satellites (Stevens et al, 1997;von Savigny et al, 1999;Barth et al, 2001;Gardner et al, 2007;Kerzenmacher et al, 2008;Gattinger et al, 2010;Sheese et al, 2011). Using different techniques (NO γ -band UV dayglow, NO 2 continuum nightglow + O, solar occultation in the IR, NO 5.3 µm emission), these measurements show peak NO number densities of 1-7×10 8 cm −3 in the auroral region.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…2). These background emissions are not constant but vary depending on which part of the night sky is in the field of view (Witt et al, 1981;Leinert et al, 1998). The left panel in Fig.…”

Section: No From the Photometric Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This emission can be used, together with knowledge about the local O concentration and in the absence of auroral emissions, to infer NO number densities in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere region (Sharp, 1978;Witt et al, 1981;McDade et al, 1986a;von Savigny et al, 1999;Gattinger et al, 2010;Enell et al, 2011;Sheese et al, 2011). An attempt to do this was made by adding a set of two photometers to each of the three payloads in the last campaign of the ECOMA project in December 2010.…”

Section: Nitric Oxide In the Middle Atmospherementioning

confidence: 99%

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Observations of NO in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere during ECOMA 2010

et al. 2012

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Abstract. In December 2010 the last campaign of the German-Norwegian sounding rocket project ECOMA (Existence and Charge state Of Meteoric smoke particles in the middle Atmosphere) was conducted from Andøya Rocket Range in northern Norway (69 • N, 16 • E) in connection with the Geminid meteor shower. The main instrument on board the rocket payloads was the ECOMA detector for studying meteoric smoke particles (MSPs) by active photoionization and subsequent detection of the produced charges (particles and photoelectrons). In addition to photoionizing MSPs, the energy of the emitted photons from the ECOMA flash-lamp is high enough to also photoionize nitric oxide (NO). Thus, around the peak of the NO layer, at and above the main MSP layer, photoelectrons produced by the photoionization of NO are expected to contribute to, or even dominate above the main MSP-layer, the total measured photoelectron current. Among the other instruments on board was a set of two photometers to study the O 2 (b 1 + g − X 3 − g ) Atmospheric band and NO 2 continuum nightglow emissions. In the absence of auroral emissions, these two nightglow features can be used together to infer NO number densities. This will provide a way to quantify the contribution of NO photoelectrons to the photoelectron current measured by the ECOMA instrument and, above the MSP layer, a simultaneous measurement of NO with two different and independent techniques. This work is still on-going due to the uncertainties, especially in the effort to quantitatively infer NO densities from the ECOMA photoelectron current, and the lack of simultaneous measurements of temperature and density for the photometric study. In this paper we describe these two techniques to infer NO densities and discuss the uncertainties. The peak NO number density inferred from the two photometers on ascent was 3.9 × 10 8 cm −3 at an altitude of about 99 km, while the concentration inferred from the ECOMA photoelectron measurement at this altitude was a factor of 5 smaller.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…2). These background emissions are not constant but vary depending on which part of the night sky is in the field of view (Witt et al, 1981;Leinert et al, 1998). The left panel in Fig.…”

Section: No From the Photometric Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nitric Oxide In the Middle Atmospherementioning

confidence: 99%

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Observations of NO in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere during ECOMA 2010

et al. 2012

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“…Note that very little NO x in the MLT is held in the form of NO 2 due to the efficiency of the NO 2 + O → NO + O 2 reaction. There have been a number of previous observations of this chemiluminescent continuum, Sharp [1978] and Witt et al [1981] at high latitudes and McDade et al [1986a] and von Savigny et al [1999] at middle and low latitudes. For this introductory study of the OSIRIS NO 2 continuum, observations have been confined to the period 8-9 May 2005 in the Southern Hemisphere.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

NO₂ air afterglow and O and NO densities from Odin‐OSIRIS night and ACE‐FTS sunset observations in the Antarctic MLT region

et al. 2010

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The continuum spectrum produced by the NO + O(+M) → NO2(+M) + hv chemiluminescent reaction has been detected in the upper mesospheric dark polar regions by Optical Spectrograph and Infra‐Red Imager System (OSIRIS) on the Odin spacecraft. For the sample period of 8–9 May 2005, Southern Hemisphere, limb radiance profiles of continuum spectra, resolved from OH airglow and auroral contamination, are inverted to obtain volume emission rate altitude profiles. The maximum observed differential brightness referred to zenith viewing is 1.2 × 107 photons cm−2 s−1 nm−1 at 580 nm with a measurement uncertainty 5 × 105 photons cm−2 s−1 nm−1, for an analysis range 80–101 km. Atomic oxygen densities [O] required by the analysis to derive NO densities [NO] are determined from OSIRIS O2(b1Σg+ − X3Σg−) 0‐0 band night airglow observations and from Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment‐Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE‐FTS) sunset ozone observations. The derived Southern Hemisphere [O] map that shows pronounced longitudinal variation, maximum of 7 × 1011 cm−3, considerably exceeding MSIS model values, and suggests significant dynamical influence. Combining the continuum observations and the derived [O], a hemispheric map of derived [NO] is assembled that also shows considerable spatial variation, maximum of 1.1 × 109 cm−3, measurement uncertainty of 3 × 107 cm−3. Comparing the two maps, the geographical distribution of [NO] differs considerably from that of [O]. From a qualitative comparison, the distribution of derived [NO] is similar to that in coordinated GUVI LBH1 auroral precipitation images. The OSIRIS‐derived [NO] agrees with the measured ACE‐FTS [NO] to within 1 × 108 cm−3. The estimated systematic uncertainty of the NO densities derived from OSIRIS observations is approximately 30%.

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“…9 which presents the observed zenith intensity (including the sky background) from the 5760 A photometer. Normally, one would expect to see the emission decrease from 95 to 100 km as the rocket passed through the NO1 continuum layer (McDade et al, 1986b;Witt et al, 1981). Instead we see a noticeable increase in the signal, centered around 99 km.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

A comparison of measurements of the oxygen nightglow and atomic oxygen in the lower thermosphere

Siskind

Sharp

1991

Planetary and Space Science

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Abstract-We have investigated the relationship between the oxygen nightglow and the atomic oxygen density in the lower thermosphere. This was done using data from two sounding rocket experiments conducted over White Sands Missile Range (32"N, 106"W). The first flight was launched on 2 November 1978 while the second was launched on 7 December 1981. Both flights contained resonance lamps to measure the atomic oxygen density. The peak density in both cases was near 1.9 x 10" cme3. In addition, the 1978 flight contained a photometer to measure the 5577 A green line while the 1981 flight contained photometers to measure the green line, the U.V. nightglow, and the 7620 8, (0,O) atmospheric band. We have used empirical models of these airglow features to compare with the 0 density measurements. In the case of the atmospheric band, excellent agreement is seen concerning the shape of the atomic oxygen profile, while some discrepancies were seen with the Her&erg band and the green line. In all cases, the absolute value of our peak 0 density appeared to be about 2.5 times lower, for a given airglow intensity, than previous measurements.

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The airglow continuum at high latitudes—An estimate of the NO concentration

Cited by 26 publications

References 38 publications

Observations of NO in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere during ECOMA 2010

Observations of NO in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere during ECOMA 2010

NO₂ air afterglow and O and NO densities from Odin‐OSIRIS night and ACE‐FTS sunset observations in the Antarctic MLT region

A comparison of measurements of the oxygen nightglow and atomic oxygen in the lower thermosphere

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The airglow continuum at high latitudes—An estimate of the NO concentration

Cited by 26 publications

References 38 publications

Observations of NO in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere during ECOMA 2010

Observations of NO in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere during ECOMA 2010

NO2 air afterglow and O and NO densities from Odin‐OSIRIS night and ACE‐FTS sunset observations in the Antarctic MLT region

A comparison of measurements of the oxygen nightglow and atomic oxygen in the lower thermosphere

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

NO₂ air afterglow and O and NO densities from Odin‐OSIRIS night and ACE‐FTS sunset observations in the Antarctic MLT region