Middle and upper atmosphere pressure-temperature profiles and the abundances of CO[sub 2] and CO in the upper atmosphere from ATMOS/Spacelab 3 observations

Journal Article · Sun Dec 20 00:00:00 EST 1992 · Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/92JD01622· OSTI ID:6788571

Rinsland, C P ^[1]; Gunson, M R ^[2]; Zander, R ^[3]; Lopez-Puertas, M ^[4]

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1. NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA (United States)
2. California Inst. of Technology, Pasadena (United States)
3. Univ. of Liege, Liege-Cointe (Belgium)
4. Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, Granada (Spain)

Based on a new approach, profiles of kinetic temperature and atmospheric pressure between 20 and 116 km altitude and CO[sub 2] and CO volume mixing ratios between 70 and 116 km have been derived from the [approximately]0.01-cm[sup [minus]1] resolution infrared solar occultation spectra recorded by the atmospheric trace molecular spectroscopy (ATMOS) Fourier transform spectrometer during the Spacelab 3 shuttle mission (April 29 to May 6, 1985). The physical model and CO[sub 2] profile results have been obtained from simultaneous multiscan least squares fitting of microwindows containing CO[sub 2] lines with temperature-dependent and temperature-independent intensities and N[sub 2] lines with temperature-independent intensities. The physical model results are compared with climatological profiles, lower thermospheric temperatures computed with the MSISE-90 model, and other data. The CO[sub 2] retrievals indicate a nearly constant volume mixing ratio of 320[plus minus]35 ppmv (parts per million, 10[sup [minus]6], by volume) in the 70- to 90-km altitude region with a rapid decline in the CO[sub 2] volume mixing ratio beginning between 90 and 100 km; at 116 km the CO[sub 2] volume mixing ratio has declined to about 70 ppmv and is equal to the CO volume mixing ratio, which has been derived from fits to the (1-0) CO vibration-rotation band. The absorption by the [nu][sub 2] + [nu][sub 3] [minus] [nu][sub 2] band of CO[sub 2] has been analyzed to quantify nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) effects in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere. 56 refs., 14 figs., 8 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 6788571
• Journal Information: Journal of Geophysical Research; (United States), Vol. 97:D18; ISSN 0148-0227
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CARBON DIOXIDE
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
CARBON MONOXIDE
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
TEMPERATURE MONITORING
EQUILIBRIUM
LEAST SQUARE FIT
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
VIBRATIONAL STATES
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
ENERGY LEVELS
EXCITED STATES
MAXIMUM-LIKELIHOOD FIT
MONITORING
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
540120* - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)