Mid- and low-latitude model of thermospheric emissions. 1. O sup + ( sup 2 P) 7320 angstrom and N sub 2 (2P) 3,371 angstrom

Journal Article · Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States)

OSTI ID:5268673

Torr, M R ^[1]; Torr, D G; Richards, P G ^[2]; Yung, S P ^[3]

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1. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL (USA)
2. Univ. of Alabama, Huntsville (USA)
3. Boeing Corp., Huntsville, AL (USA)

The capability has been developed to model thermospheric airglow emissions on a semiglobal scale (L < 5). This model produces volume emission rates as a function of altitude, latitude, longitude, and local time for any selected date, and solar and magnetic conditions. The model can thus be used to provide three-dimensional maps of the selected emission for comparison with data obtained from orbiting vehicles. As such it becomes an essential tool in the planning and interpretation of airglow observations. A unique feature of the model is that it incorporates full interhemispheric coupling by solving all the appropriate coupled equations along the magnetic flux tubes from the mesosphere in one hemisphere to the mesosphere in the other hemisphere. As a result the effects of conjugate photoelectrons (and heat fluxes) can be fully explored. In this paper the authors select two thermospheric emissions with which to demonstrate the capability. The first is the 7,320-{angstrom} emission from the metastable O{sup {minus}}({sup 2}P). The second is the permitted emission at 3,371 {angstrom} from the N{sub 2} second positive O-O band. These two emissions, for which the photochemistry is relatively well understood, are used to show the seasonal, diurnal and solar cyclic variations on a scale that covers mid-and low-latitudes, and the effects of interhemispheric coupling (conjugate photoelectrons).

• OSTI ID: 5268673
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Vol. 95:A12; ISSN 0148-0227
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
AIRGLOW
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
ALTITUDE
CHARGED-PARTICLE TRANSPORT
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
MAGNETIC FLUX
MAPS
MESOSPHERE
NITROGEN
OXYGEN
PHOTOCHEMISTRY
THERMOSPHERE
TIME DEPENDENCE
CHEMISTRY
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELEMENTS
EVALUATION
NONMETALS
RADIATION TRANSPORT
640201* - Atmospheric Physics- Auroral
Ionospheric
&amp; Magetospheric Phenomena