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Publications

Airglow and aurora

1994

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Wave-Modified Mean Exothermic Heating In The Mesopause Region, Michael P. Hickey Ph.D., R. L. Walterscheid Nov 1994

Wave-Modified Mean Exothermic Heating In The Mesopause Region, Michael P. Hickey Ph.D., R. L. Walterscheid

Publications

We employ a model of wave-driven OH nightglow fluctuations to calculate the effects of gravity waves on the chemical exothermic heating due to reactions involving odd hydrogen and odd oxygen species in the mesopause region. Using a model based on time means and deviations from those means, it is demonstrated that gravity waves contribute to the time-average exothermic heating. The effect can be significant because the fractional fluctuations in minor species density can be substantially greater than the fractional fluctuation of the major gas density. Our calculations reveal that the waves mitigate the exothermic heating, demonstrating their potential importance in …

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Comparison Of Theories For Gravity Wave Induced Fluctuations In Airglow Emissions, R. L. Walterscheid, G. Schubert, Michael P. Hickey Ph.D. Mar 1994

Comparison Of Theories For Gravity Wave Induced Fluctuations In Airglow Emissions, R. L. Walterscheid, G. Schubert, Michael P. Hickey Ph.D.

Publications

A comparison is undertaken of theories for the gravity wave induced fluctuations in the intensity of airglow emissions and the associated temperature of the source region. The comparison is made in terms of Krassovsky's ratio ηE for a vertically extended emission region (ηE is the ratio of the vertically integrated normalized intensity perturbation to the vertically integrated normalized intensity-weighted temperature perturbation). It is shown that the formulas for ηE in the works by Tarasick and Hines (1990) and Schubert et al. (1991) are in agreement for the case of an inviscid atmosphere. The calculation of ηE using the theory of …

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