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On the distribution of mesospheric molecular hydrogen inferred from HALOE measurements of H 2 O and CH 4
Author(s) -
Harries J. E.,
Ruth S.,
Russell J. M.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/95gl03197
Subject(s) - atmosphere (unit) , occultation , atmospheric sciences , mesosphere , environmental science , hydrogen , methane , satellite , hydrogen molecule , water vapor , stratosphere , meteorology , physics , chemistry , astronomy , quantum mechanics , organic chemistry
The Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) is in orbit on NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), and has been used to make measurements of a number of stratospheric and mesospheric constituents since October 1991. These include, amongst others, water vapour, H 2 O, and methane, CH 4 , two principal components of the total hydrogen budget of the middle atmosphere. The third main component is molecular hydrogen, H 2 , which is not measurable by HALOE or any other UARS sensor. By making the assumption that the total hydrogen content of the middle atmosphere is a conserved quantity, and that these three constituents dominate the budget, it is possible to infer the H 2 fields in the mesosphere from the HALOE H 2 O and CH 4 measurements.