Open AccessOrigin of a tidal structure in the thermospheric O/N 2 ratio
Author(s) -
Balcerak Ernie
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2011eo470013
Subject(s) - thermosphere , ionosphere , mesosphere , atmospheric sciences , physics , computational physics , atomic physics , geophysics , stratosphere
One recently recognized way of studying the ionospheric and thermospheric structure is through measurements of the column number density ratio of atomic oxygen to molecular nitrogen (O/N 2 ). Data from the Global Ultraviolet Imager on board the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite show that this ratio exhibits a tidal structure. Kil and Paxton found that the 135.6‐nanometer emission produced by the radiative recombination of the oxygen ion contributes to the retrieved O/N 2 ratio, and therefore the tidal structure in the O/N 2 ratio originates in the ionosphere, not the thermosphere. ( Geophysical Research Letters , doi:10.1029/2011GL049432, 2011)