Open AccessAtomic oxygen density profiles from ground‐based nightglow measurements at 23°S
Author(s) -
Melo Stella M. L.,
McDade Ian C.,
Takahashi Hisao
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2000jd900820
Subject(s) - airglow , thermosphere , mesosphere , atomic oxygen , atmospheric sciences , environmental science , oxygen , atmosphere (unit) , altitude (triangle) , satellite , atomic physics , physics , ionosphere , meteorology , stratosphere , geophysics , geometry , mathematics , quantum mechanics , astronomy
In this paper we demonstrate how ground‐based measurements of selected airglow emission features may be used to determine the vertical distribution of atomic oxygen in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere. The technique used is based on a method first suggested by Sharp and McDade [1996] and exploits differences between the kinetics of specific oxygen airglow features to determine key parameters related to the atomic oxygen vertical distribution. The technique is applied to ground‐based measurements of the OI 557.7 nm green line, the O 2 Atmospheric (0–1) band, and the OH Meinel (9–4) band emissions made at Cachoeira Paulista, Brazil (23°S, 45°W) from January 1987 to June 1994. In order to compare the results obtained here with observations, the derived atomic oxygen density profiles are used to forward calculate hydroxyl nightglow profiles which are then compared with profiles measured by the Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII) experiment on board the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). This comparison shows good agreement for the seasonally averaged nocturnal behavior of both the peak altitude and the peak volume emission rate.