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Unusual Intensity Patterns of OH(6,2) and O( 1 S) Airglow Driven by Long‐Period Waves Observed Over the Andes Lidar Observatory
Author(s) -
AmaroRivera Yolián,
Vargas Fabio,
Huang TaiYin,
Urbina Julio
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1029/2020ja028091
Subject(s) - airglow , intensity (physics) , observatory , atmospheric sciences , maxima , physics , environmental science , climatology , geology , astrophysics , optics , performance art , art history , art
Simultaneous OH(6,2) and O( 1 S) nightglow measurements obtained at the Andes Lidar Observatory (ALO) (30.3°S, 70.7°W) from September 2011 to April 2018 have been analyzed to investigate an unusual intensity pattern, that is, O( 1 S) nightglow intensity enhancement concurrent with OH(6,2) nightglow intensity weakening. We identified 142 nights showing that behavior during the ∼6.5‐year period. The data set comprised of these 142 nights displayed a semiannual occurrence rate with maxima during the equinoxes. A semidiurnal tide fitting applied to the 30‐min bin size monthly averaged data shows that the largest amplitudes of the tide occur in April–May and August–September in both OH(6,2) and O( 1 S). SABER atomic oxygen (O) climatology near ALO shows higher O densities near the equinoxes, with maximum O densities in March and September at ∼96 km. Lidar temperature analysis suggests that the O( 1 S) enhancement concurrent with the OH(6,2) weakening is often accompanied by a temperature increase at 96 km and a decrease at 87 km. Simulations using airglow models have also been carried out to investigate the effect of a long‐period oscillation on the OH(6,2) and O( 1 S) airglow intensities. A sensitivity study has also been conducted to illustrate the effect of the characteristics of a long‐period wave on the airglow intensity patterns.