The Natural Thermostat of Nitric Oxide Emission at 5.3 Micrometers in the Thermosphere Observed During the Solar Storms of April 2002
Abstract
The Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) experiment on the Thermosphere- Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite observed the infrared radiative response of the thermosphere to the solar storm events of April 2002. Large radiance enhancements were observed at 5.3 micronmeter, which are due to emission from the vibration-rotation bands of nitric oxide (NO). The emission by NO is indicative of the conversion of solar energy to infrared radiation within the atmosphere and represents a "natural thermostat" by which heat and energy are efficiently lost from the thermosphere to space and to the lower atmosphere. We describe the SABER observations at 5.3 micronmeter and their interpretation in terns of energy loss. The infrared enhancements remain only for a few days, indicating that such perturbations to the thermospheric state, while dramatic, are short-lived.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 07, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA437714
Entities
People
- Bernd Funke
- Christopher Mertens
- F. J. Martin-torres
- James Russell III
- Janet Kozyra
- Jeremy Winick
- Ken Beaumont
- Larry Gordley
- Larry J. Paxton
- Manuel Lopez-puertas
- Marty Mlynczak
- Peter Wintersteiner
- Richard Picard
- Steven Jacobson
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory