Open AccessThe O(<sup>1</sup>S) dayglow emission as observed by the WIND imaging interferometer on the UARS
Author(s) -
Vir Singh,
I. C. McDade,
G. G. Shepherd,
B. H. Solheim,
W. E. Ward
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
annales geophysicae
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.522
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1432-0576
pISSN - 0992-7689
DOI - 10.1007/s00585-996-0637-y
Subject(s) - thermosphere , airglow , atomic physics , dissociative recombination , physics , atmosphere (unit) , photodissociation , metastability , mesosphere , atmospheric sciences , ionosphere , chemistry , recombination , meteorology , stratosphere , astronomy , biochemistry , photochemistry , quantum mechanics , gene
Volume emission rate profiles of the O(1D-1S)\ud5577 Å dayglow measured by the WIND imaging interferometer on the Upper\udAtmosphere Research Satellite are analyzed to examine the O(1S)\udexcitation mechanisms in the sunlit lower thermosphere and upper mesosphere. The\udobserved emission profiles are compared with theoretical profiles calculated\udusing a model which takes into account all of the known daytime sources of O(1S).\udThese include photoelectron impact on atomic oxygen, dissociative recombination\udof O+2, photodissociation of molecular oxygen, energy\udtransfer from metastable N2(A3Σ+u)\udand three body recombination of atomic oxygen. Throughout most of the\udthermosphere the measured and modelled emission rates are in reasonably good\udagreement, given the limitations of the model, but in the region below 100 km,\udwhere the oxygen atom recombination source is likely to dominate, the measured\udemission rates are considerably larger than those modelled using the MSIS-90\udoxygen atom densities. This discrepancy is discussed in terms of possible\udinadequacies in the MSIS-90 model atmosphere and/or additional sources of O(1S)\udat low altitude