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ETON 6: A rocket measurement of the O2 Infrared Atmospheric (0-0) band in the nightglow |
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| Authors: | I C McDade E J Llewellyn |
| Institution: | Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies, Department of Physics, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N OWO Department of Pure and Applied Physics, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, U.K. Meteorological Instiute, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, S-106 91, Stockholm, Sweden |
| Abstract: | Co-ordinated rocket measurements of the O2(a1Δg?X3Σg?) Infrared Atmospheric (0-0) band emission profile and the atomic oxygen densities in an undisturbed night-time atmosphere are used to investigate the processes responsible for the excitation of O2(a1Δg) in the terrestrial nightglow. It is shown that three-body recombination of atomic oxygen, and subsequent energy transfer processes, can explain only part of the observed emission profile and that at least two other sources of O2(a1Δg) emission must exist. One of these additional sources, responsible for most of the emission observed below 90km, is identified as arising from the night-time residual of the very large dayglow 1Δg population. The other additional source is required to explain most of the emission observed above 95km. The processes responsible for this high altitude component cannot be identified but the vertical distribution of the required source function strongly resembles the profile of the atomic oxygen density squared and suggests that a two-body radiative recombination process may be involved. However, the measured zenith emission rates can also be explained without the high altitude source of O2(a1Δg) if optical emission at 1.27 μm was induced by the rocket as it penetrated the nightglow layer. |
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