On the Relative Roles of Dynamics and Chemistry Governing the Abundance and Diurnal Variation of Low-Latitude Thermospheric Nitric Oxide

Abstract

We use data from two NASA satellites, the Thermosphere Ionosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) and the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellites, in conjunction with model simulations from the thermosphere-ionosphere-mesosphere-electrodynamics general circulation model (TIME-GCM) to elucidate the key dynamical and chemical factors governing the abundance and diurnal variation of lower thermospheric nitric oxide (NO) at near-solar minimum conditions and low latitudes. This analysis was enabled by the recent orbital precession of the AIM satellite which caused the solar occultation pattern measured by the Solar Occultation for Ice Experiment (SOFIE) to migrate down to low and mid-latitudes for specific periods of time. We use a month of NO data collected in January 2017 to compare with two versions of the TIME-GCM; one is driven solely by climatological tides and analysis-derived planetary waves at the lower boundary and is free running at all other altitudes, and the other is constrained by a high-altitude analysis from the Navy Global Environmental Model (NAVGEM) up to the mesopause. We also compare SOFIE data with a NO climatology from the nitric oxide empirical model (NOEM). Both SOFIE and NOEM yield peak NO abundances of around 4 x 10(7) cm(-3); however, the SOFIE profile peaks about 6-8 km lower than NOEM. We show that this difference is likely a local time effect, with SOFIE being a dawn measurement and NOEM representing late morning and/or near noon. The constrained version of TIME-GCM exhibits a low-altitude dawn peak, while the model that is forced solely at the lower boundary and free running above does no

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 25, 2019
Accession Number
AD1099647

Entities

People

  • Astrid Maute
  • Daniel R. Marsh
  • David E. Siskind
  • Douglas P. Drob
  • John P. McCormack
  • Mark E. Hervig
  • Martin G. Mlynczak
  • Mcarthur Jr Jones
  • Nicholas J. Mitchell
  • Scott M. Bailey

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Altitude
  • Atmosphere Models
  • Chemistry
  • Department Of Defense
  • Diurnal Variations
  • Electron Density
  • Electrons
  • Grids
  • High Altitude
  • Ionization
  • Ionosphere
  • Latitude
  • Low Altitude
  • Measurement
  • Soft X Rays
  • Two Dimensional
  • X Rays

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.
  • Vector-Borne Disease and Entomology

Technology Areas

  • Space