Table Of ContentProgress in Atmospheric Physics
Progress in
Atmospheric Physics
Proceedings of the 15th Annual Meeting
on Atmospheric Studies by Optical Methods,
held in Granada, Spain,
6-11 September 1987
edited by
R. Rodrigo
J. J. L6pez-Moreno
M. L6pez-Puertas
Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia
(Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas),
Granada, Spain
and
A. Molina
University of Granada and
Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, Granada, Spain
KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS
DORDRECHT / BOSTON / LONDON
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Meeting on Atmospheric Studies by Optical Methods (15th: 1987
Granada. Spain)
Progress in atmospheric physics proceedings of the 15th Annual
Meeting on Atmospheric Studies by Optical Methods. held in Granada.
Spain. 6-;1 September 1987/ edited by R. Rodrigo ... let al.l.
p. cm.
Includes indexes.
ISBN-13: 978-94-010-7852-8 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-009-3009-4
001: 10.1007/978-94-009-3009-4
1. Atmospheric physics--Congresses. 2. Atmosphere. Upper-
-Congresses. 3. Aurora--Congresses. 4. Airglow--Congresses.
5. Atmospheric chemistry--Congresses. I. Rodrigo. R. II. Title.
0(;851 • ~Il ::S4::l 198-'
551.5·15--dc19 88-12046
CIP
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© 1988 by Kluwer Academic Publishers
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD .................................................................. vii
1. AERONOMY
The oxygen riightglow
D.R. BATES (I) ............................................................... 3
Studies of planetary atmospheres by optical methods
F.W. TAYLOR (I) ............................................................. 33
Lidar measurements of stratospheric and mesospheric density:
Preliminary results
A. ADRIANI, G. DI DONFRANCESCO, M. VITERBINI,
G.P. GOBBI and F. CONGEDUTI ............................................. 47
Ozone measurements at high latitudes
S.H.H. LARSEN ............................................................... 57
Measurements of wind in the upper atmosphere:
First results of the MJCADO instrument
G. THUILLIER and M. HERSE .... .......... .... .. ... . .. ... .. ........ ..... .... 61
2. ATMOSPHERIC EMISSIONS
Modeling of mesospheric 011 airglow fluctuations and waves
using s-domain ra:diance transferance
D.J. BAKER (I) ............................................................... 77
Oxygen aeronomy and the nightglow: A compact critique
R.G.H. GREER (I) ............................................................. 97
Contaminat,ion glow observed during two rocket sounding experiments
B.R. CLEMESHA, H. TAKAHASHI and Y. SAHAI ........................... 109
Interaction radiation-dynamics in the atmosphere
C. GAy....................................................................... 121
Evidence for non-local thermodynamic equilibrium in the V3 mode
of mesospheric CO from Stratospheric and Mesospheric
2
Sounder measurements
M. LOPEZ-PUERTAS, F.W. TAYLOR and M.A. LOPEZ-VALVERDE 131
Rocket measurements of the O infrared atmospheric (0-0) band
2
in the nightglow: The vestigial dayglow components
I.C. McDADE and E.J. LLEWELLyN........................................ 151
vi
Tidal temperature variations in the high latitude mesopause region
as observed in the OH night airglow emissions
H.Kr. MYRAB0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. ... . . . . . . . . . . 167
Infrared airglow
R.D. SHARMA 177
3. AURORA AND INSTRUMENTATION
Half bounce-period auroral pulsations
H.J. HANSEN, E. MRAVLAG and M.W.J. SCOURFIELD 189
On the use of topside auroral images together with various ground-based
data to study local and global auroral development
R.J. PELLINEN, O.A. AULAMO, J.D. CRAVEN,
L.A. FRANK and J.S. MURPHREE .......................................... 197
Ground based and space borne instrumentation for atmospheric
trace species measurements by UV-Visible spectrometer
J.P. POMMEREAU and F. GOUTAIL ........................................ 213
Esrange scientific optical instrumentation
o. WIDELL.................................................................. 223
4.3 I'm radiation in the aurorally dosed lower thermosphere:
Modeling and analysis
J.R. WINICK, R.H. PICARD, R.D. SHARMA,
R.A. JOSEPH and P.P. WINTERSTEINER ................................... 229
ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF THE AUTHORS .......................... 239
SUBJECT INDEX ............................................................ 241
FOREWORD
This book contains some of the papers presented at the 15th Annual Meeting
on Atmospheric Studies by Optical Methods which was held in Granada, Spain,
from Septe~ber 6 through September 11, 1987 and hosted by the Instituto de
Astrofisica de Andaluda of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientfficas
(Spanish Higher Res~arch Council). Fifty scientists from 14 different countries
attended the Meeting.
A number of review papers were invited but the participants were also allowed
to submit the papers of their own choice. The final program was organized in 7
sessions devoted to different scientific subjects of Atmospheric Research. Many
thanks are due to Drs. D.J. Baker, D.R. Bates, R.G.H. Greer, E.J. Llewellyn,
T.G. Slanger, F.W. Taylor and G. Witt who served as chairmen of the sessions
during the Meeting and contributed greatly to its success by carefully directing the
discussion period in a stimulating manner after each lecture. We wish to thank the
referees who have been so helpful with careful and fruitful comments to improve
the quality of the papers published in this book.
The scientific program was divided into three parts: Aeronomy, Atmospheric
Emissions, and Aurora and Instrumentation. Detailed programs for these sections,
and their subsequent editing, were the responsability of the undersigned. Some of
the authors presenting papers at the Meeting declined the invitation to publish
their manuscripts in the present book for different reasons. Our thanks to all of
them for their attendance and presentation.
The first section deals with Aeronomy, with papers on density, minor com
pounds and wind measurements in the middle atmosphere, and presents a brief
history of the identification of some nightglow features as well as the state of the
art of their interpretation in terms of photochemical processes. The second sec
tion presents new results on oxygen emissions, OH Meinel bands and non-LTE
processes using ground-based, rocket- and satellite-borne instrumentation. The fi
nal section is devoted to Aurora and Instrumentation including a discussion of the
4.3 /Lm radiation in the aurora, pulsating aurorae and studies of local and global
auroral developments, as well as ground-based and space-borne instrumentation
vii
YIll
for trace species, airglow and aurora measurements.
The sponsorship by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientfficas, in
cluding the provision of travel assistance for invited reviewers made this Meeting
possible. Costs of the Meeting were covered primarily by grants from Direccion
General de Investigacion Cientffica y Tecnica of the Ministerio de Educacion y
Ciencia (General Direction of Scientific and Engineering Research of the Ministry
of Education and Science), Direccion General de Universidades e Investigacion of
the Junta de Andaluda (General Direction of Universities and Research of the Re
gional Government of Andalucia), City Council of Granada, and Cajas de Ahorros
de Granada y Ronda (Saving Banks of Granada and Ronda). The help of these
organizations is gratefully acknowledged. The cooperation of the staff of the Ins
tituto de Astroffsica de Andalucfa is also recognized.
Special thanks should be given to Miss Susana Gomez, the secretary of the
Meeting, for her assistance to all of us.
Granada, February 1988 R. Rodrigo
J.J. Lopez-Moreno
M. L6pez-Puertas
A. Molina
1. AERONOMY
THE OXYGEN NIGHTGLOW
David R. Bates
Department of Applied Mathematics & Theoretical Physics
Queen's University, Belfast BT7 INN, U.K.
ABSTRACT. A brief account is given of the history of the identification
of the nightglow spectral features.
Elementary kinetic considerations show that the Chapman process is
a less important source of 5577A in the nightglow than is the Barth
mechanism involving transfer from a precursor. Re-examination of the
1976 afterglow measurements of Slanger and Black combined with spectro
scopic observations by Degen (1972) shows that the O(lS) precursor in
the afterglow is not 02(A 3E+) and is probably not 02(A' 36 ). A facet
of It he afterg 1 ow measurementus suggests t h at t h1S" "1 S also truu e of the
O( S) precursor of the nightglow. The altitude profile of the 5577A
emission confirms that the Barth mechanism is responsible but provides
no clue to the identity of the precursor.
Consideration of the Atmospheric and Infrared Atmospheric systems
is facilitated by the nightglow emission originating from only the v=O
vibrational level of each. This allows the quenching rates to be cal
culated reliably. The observed intensities of the two systems are
greater than would be expe°ct ed° f rom the fractions F(b,¥) and F(a,M)lof
termolecular associations + + M that produce 02(b E+) and 02(a 6 )
respectively. This is strong evidence for a precursor ~even though g
other processes may contribute). Measurements that purport to show
that the two systems necessarily have different precursors are discounted.
Should 02(5rr ) have a dissociation energy of about 0.2 eV (Saxon and Liu
1978) it woufd quite probably be the precursor for 02(b lE+) (with
02(A' 36u) as a pOfsible alternative) and would very proba~ly be the
precursor for 02(a 6g). However should it have a dissociation energy
of only about 0.1 eV (Partridge, Bauschlicher and Langhoff 1986) it
could not be the precursor of either of the two states. The precursor
would then be 02(A' 36 ) and perhaps another of the close metastable
trio. The altitude p¥ofile of the Atmospheric system ,emission shows'
that there is a precursor but is not a useful guide to its identity.
The quenching of the Herzberg I and II and Chamberlain systems has
not been adequately studied in the laboratory. It is reasoned that data
of McNeal and Durana (1969) require that quenching of the higher v levels
of 02(A 3E+) proceeds more rapidly than the reported (Kenner and Ogryzlo
1983) rateUof quenching of the v = 2 level. This is in agreement with
3
R. Rodrigo et al. (eds.), Progress in Atmospheric Physics, 3-31.
© 1988 by Kluwer Academic Publishers.
4
a laser experiment by Slanger et a1 (1984). The same conclusion is
reached from the intensity of the Herzberg I system in the nightg10w.
The intensities of the Herzberg II and Chamberlain systems indicate that
o (c 1E-) and 02(A' 3~u) are also quite readily quenched. It is likely
t~at th~ close metastable trio are coupled by collisions - the collisional
coupling between 02(A 3E~) and 02(A' 3~u) would be expected to be strong.
Some of the rate coefficients measured in the laboratory have been
misinterpreted.
1. INTRODUCTION
Research on the oxygen nightg10w may be said to have begun in 1895 when
Campbell detected the green line visually. It continues vigorously.
This occasion is not suited to a comprehensive survey but it is
fitting to outline the historical development of our knowledge of the
spectral features present. Our concern will be with the chemi
luminescent processes occurring in the lower thermosphere. The con
tribution to the nightglow from recombination in the F region will not
be discussed. Information on energies, transition probabilities and
deactivation rate coefficients is for convenience collected in the
Appendix.
2. IDENTIFICATION OF SPECTRAL FEATURES
The difficult task of identifying the lines and bands that are present
in the spectrum of the night glow has b~en spread out over the past half
century.
A short account of the identification of the green line has been
given by Bates (1978). The key steps were the determination by
Babcock (1923) that its wavelength is 5577.350 + 0.005A; the recognition
by Bowen (1927) that under suitable conditions forbidden transitions
may occur; a series of laboratory experiments by McLennan (1128) and
his associates that finally proved that the green line is 01, S + 1D•
From an investigation of the arc spectrum of oxygen Frerichs (1930)
was able to predict the wave lengths of the 01, lD + 3P2 1 doublet
approximately. Almost immediately Paschen (1930) observed the two lines
in the laboratory at 6300.26 and 6363.86A. The identification of a pair
of red features in the nightglow followed when Sommer (1933) determined
their wave lengths to be 6300 and 6364A. Interferometric measurements
by Cabannes and Dufay (1955) gave 6300.308 + 0.004 and 6363.790 + 0.004A.
Cohen-Sabban and Vuillemin (1973) detected the remaining forbidden 01
line IS + 3p at 2972A in spectra obtained during balloon flights.
In 1958 Chamberlain recognized that the 01 intercombination line
4368A, 4p3p + 3s3S is present in the nightglow. This has been confirmed
by Ingham (1962) and by Christensen and Tinsley (1971) observing in the
southern intertropical arc. Also observing in this arS Weill and
Joseph (1970) and Tinsley (1972) detected 01, 3p3p + 3s S, at 7774A.
An experiment aboard a polar orbiting satellite 3eveale1 the presence
of the ultra violet 01 intercombination lines 3s S - 2p P at l304A and
