Open AccessAn exospheric temperature model from CHAMP thermospheric density
Author(s) -
Weng Libin,
Lei Jiuhou,
Sutton Eric,
Dou Xiankang,
Fang Hanxian
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
space weather
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.254
H-Index - 56
ISSN - 1542-7390
DOI - 10.1002/2016sw001577
Subject(s) - thermosphere , atmospheric sciences , earth's magnetic field , latitude , exosphere , anomaly (physics) , satellite , environmental science , local time , atmospheric temperature , physics , ionosphere , geophysics , astronomy , magnetic field , ion , statistics , mathematics , quantum mechanics , condensed matter physics
In this study, the effective exospheric temperature, named as T ∞ , derived from thermospheric densities measured by the CHAMP satellite during 2002–2010 was utilized to develop an exospheric temperature model (ETM) with the aid of the NRLMSISE‐00 model. In the ETM, the temperature variations are characterized as a function of latitude, local time, season, and solar and geomagnetic activities. The ETM is validated by the independent GRACE measurements, and it is found that T ∞ and thermospheric densities from the ETM are in better agreement with the GRACE data than those from the NRLMSISE‐00 model. In addition, the ETM captures well the thermospheric equatorial anomaly feature, seasonal variation, and the hemispheric asymmetry in the thermosphere.