Thermospheric odd nitrogen: 1. NO, N(4 S), and O(³P) Densities from rocket measurements of the NO δ and γ bands and the O2 Herzberg I bands

Airglow emissions from the upper atmosphere were measured with instruments on a sounding rocket launched on November 7, 1979. The nitric oxide delta and gamma bands and the molecular oxygen Herzberg I bands were observed at evening twilight with a pair of ultraviolet spectrometers and a photometer. Nightglow emission of NO and O2 were measured on the upleg. Twilight NO gamma band fluorescence and NO delta band chemiluminescence were measured on the downleg. The altitude profiles of the NO and O2 nightglow emissions were inverted to yield the density of O(³P) between 90 and 120 km and the density of N(4S) between 100 and 200 km. The twilight NO gamma band emission profile was inverted to yield the density of nitric oxide between 112 and 200 km. By viewing in the solar and antisolar directions on the two legs of the flight the measurements provide an indication of the temporal variation of the N(4S) density. These observations provide the first simultaneous measurements of the thermospheric densities of NO, N(4S), and O(³P).

[1]  Joseph E. Salah,et al.  A global thermospheric model based on mass spectrometer and incoherent scatter data MSIS, 1. N2 density and temperature , 1977 .

[2]  Arlin J. Krueger,et al.  A mid-latitude ozone model for the 1976 U.S. Standard Atmosphere , 1976 .

[3]  J. Gérard,et al.  The latitudinal gradient of nitric oxide in the thermosphere , 1979 .

[4]  M. Engebretson,et al.  Long-term variations in atomic nitrogen densities , 1982 .

[5]  C. Barth.  Rocket measurement of the nitric oxide dayglow , 1964 .

[6]  R. E. Huffman,et al.  Satellite vacuum ultraviolet airglow and auroral observations , 1980 .

[7]  Carl A. Reber,et al.  A global thermospheric model based on mass spectrometer and incoherent scatter data MSIS, 2. Composition , 1977 .

[8]  G. Tisone.  Measurements of NO densities during sunrise at Kauai , 1973 .

[9]  Luiz Gylvan Meira.  Rocket measurements of upper atmospheric nitric oxide and their consequences to the lower ionosphere , 1971 .

[10]  D. Kley,et al.  Rate constant for the infrared emission of the NO(C2Π → A2Σ+) transition , 1971 .

[11]  P. Feldman,et al.  The aeronomy of odd nitrogen in the thermosphere 2. Twilight emissions , 1975 .

[12]  R. Young,et al.  Excitation of the β, γ, δ, and Ogawa bands of nitric oxide in the association of atomic nitrogen and oxygen , 1962 .

[13]  J. B. Pearce.  Rocket measurement of nitric oxide between 60 and 96 kilometers , 1969 .

[14]  I. Campbell,et al.  Rate constants for O(3P) recombination and association with N(4S) , 1973 .

[15]  S. Massie.  Nitric oxide delta band absorption measurements in the lower thermosphere , 1980 .

[16]  D. Offermann,et al.  Thermospheric density and composition as determined by a mass spectrometer with cryo ion source , 1973 .

[17]  P. Takacs,et al.  Nitric oxide gamma and delta band emission at twilight , 1974 .

[18]  R. Wayne,et al.  Kinetics of the reaction between atomic nitrogen and molecular oxygen in the ground (3∑-g) and first excited (1∆g) states , 1970, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[19]  F. Smith,et al.  Numerical evaluation of Chapman's grazing incidence integral ch (X, χ) , 1972 .

[20]  D. Rusch.  Satellite ultraviolet measurements of nitric oxide fluorescence with a diffusive transport model , 1973 .

[21]  Jean-Claude Gérard,et al.  Satellite observations of the nitric oxide nightglow , 1975 .

[22]  W. Sharp,et al.  Chemiluminescence of nitric oxide: The NO (C2Π−A2Σ+) rate constant , 1981 .

[23]  R. Young,et al.  Erratum: Correction to 'analyses of atomic oxygen, the green line, and Herzberg bands in the lower thermosphere' , 1981 .

[24]  T. Carrington,et al.  Predissociation and its inverse, using resonance absorption NO(C 2Π) ⇄ N+O , 1973 .

[25]  P. Feldman,et al.  Identification of the UV nightglow from Venus , 1979, Nature.

[26]  N. Cohen,et al.  Temperature Dependence of Chemiluminescent Reactions. II. Nitric Oxide Afterglow , 1968 .

[27]  R. McCoy.  Thermospheric odd nitrogen: 2. Comparison of rocket observations with a diffusive transport chemical model , 1983 .

[28]  T. Cravens.  Nitric oxide gamma band emission rate factor , 1977 .

[29]  P. Richards,et al.  Photodissociation of N2: A significant source of thermospheric atomic nitrogen , 1981 .

[30]  J. Gérard,et al.  High-latitude nitric oxide in the lower thermosphere , 1977 .

[31]  J. Drummond,et al.  Infrared measurements of stratospheric composition - II. Simultaneous NO and NO2 measurements , 1978, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[32]  G. Herzberg.  Molecular Spectra and Molecular Structure IV. Constants of Diatomic Molecules , 1939 .

[33]  P. Feldman,et al.  The ultraviolet dayglow 1. Far UV emissions of N and N2 , 1980 .

[34]  R. Thomas.  A high‐altitude rocket measurement of nitric oxide , 1978 .

[35]  A. Nier,et al.  Atomic nitrogen measurements in the upper atmosphere , 1975 .

[36]  D. Offermann,et al.  Neutral gas composition measurements between 80 and 120 km , 1981 .

[37]  J. G. Timothy,et al.  The solar spectral irradiance 1200–2550 Å at solar maximum , 1980 .

[38]  K. Mauersberger,et al.  Extension of atomic nitrogen measurements into the lower thermosphere , 1977 .

[39]  Lester T. Earls.  Intensities inΠ2−Σ2Transitions in Diatomic Molecules , 1935 .

[40]  C. Barth,et al.  Satellite measurements of nitric oxide in the polar region , 1975 .

[41]  T. Cravens,et al.  Diurnal and seasonal effects in E region low‐latitude nitric oxide , 1978 .

[42]  Ian W. M. Smith,et al.  Fluorescence of nitric oxide. Part 3.—Determination of the rate constants for predissociation, collisional quenching, and Spontaneous radiation of NO C2Π(v= 0) , 1964 .

[43]  D. Kley,et al.  The Rate Constant of the Aeronomic Reaction N + O2 , 1969 .

[44]  N. Iwagami,et al.  Measurement of Nitric Oxide Distribution in the Upper Atmosphere , 1975, Sāo Paulo, S.P., Brazil - June 1974.

[45]  J. Hoffman,et al.  The N I (5200 Å) dayglow , 1975 .

[46]  A. Stewart,et al.  Ultraviolet Night Airglow of Venus , 1979, Science.

[47]  K. Kelly,et al.  A joint nitric oxide measurement by rocket‐borne ultraviolet photometer and mass spectrometer in the lower thermosphere , 1978 .

[48]  E. Oran,et al.  Measurement of the nitric oxide altitude distribution in the mid-latitude mesosphere , 1977 .