Density and composition of the lower thermosphere

This paper presents a new median model of the lower thermosphere. It is based on a critical evaluation of all the measurements of density and composition in this region and carries forward the process of re-examination begun by von Zahn in this 1970 paper. Whereas von Zahn emphasized mass spectrometric measurements, the emphasis here is on results derived from observations of the drag force on satellites. In situ measurements of drag coefficient and accommodation coefficient are employed to evaluate the published values of density. In reviewing the compositional data, recent spectroscopic measurements and laboratory results on surface physics and chemistry are utilized. In the resulting model, the O/O2 ratio is 1.6 at 120 km. The O/N2 ratios are 0.69 at 150 km and 1.76 at 200 km, in the midst of recent measurements. The median density at 150 km is 1.83 μg/m³.

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