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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Middle atmosphere: composition and chemistry

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Full-Text Articles in Atmospheric Sciences

Observations And Interpretation Of Gravity Wave Induced Fluctuations In The O I (557.7 Nm) Airglow, G. Schubert, R. L. Walterscheid, Michael P. Hickey Ph.D., C. A. Tepley Jul 1999

Observations And Interpretation Of Gravity Wave Induced Fluctuations In The O I (557.7 Nm) Airglow, G. Schubert, R. L. Walterscheid, Michael P. Hickey Ph.D., C. A. Tepley

Publications

Observations of fluctuations in the intensity and temperature of the O I (557.7 nm) airglow taken at Arecibo in 1989 are reported and interpreted on the assumption that they are caused by gravity waves propagating through the emission layer. The data give the magnitude of Krassovsky's ratio as 3.5 ± 2.2, at periods between about 5 and 10 hours. Comparison with theory shows that the gravity waves responsible for the measured airglow variations must have long wavelengths of several thousand kilometers. The observed phases of Krassovsky's ratio are in good agreement with theoretically predicted values at the long wavelengths and …


Full-Wave Modeling Of Small-Scale Gravity Waves Using Airborne Lidar And Observations Of The Hawaiian Airglow (Aloha-93) O(¹S) Images And Coincident Na Wind/Temperature Lidar Measurements, Michael P. Hickey Ph.D., Michael J. Taylor, Chester S. Gardner, Christian R. Gibbons Mar 1998

Full-Wave Modeling Of Small-Scale Gravity Waves Using Airborne Lidar And Observations Of The Hawaiian Airglow (Aloha-93) O(¹S) Images And Coincident Na Wind/Temperature Lidar Measurements, Michael P. Hickey Ph.D., Michael J. Taylor, Chester S. Gardner, Christian R. Gibbons

Publications

Measurements were made of mesospheric gravity waves in the OI (5577 Å) nightglow observed from Maui, Hawaii, during the Airborne Lidar and Observations of Hawaiian Airglow (ALOHA-93) campaign. Clear, monochromatic gravity waves were observed on several nights. By using a full-wave model that realistically includes the major physical processes in this region, we have simulated the propagation of four waves through the mesopause region and calculated the O(¹S) nightglow response to the waves. Mean winds derived from Na wind/temperature lidar observations were employed in the computations. Wave amplitudes were calculated based on the requirement that the observed and …


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 …


Gravity Wave-Driven Fluctuations In The O2 Atmospheric (0-1) Nightglow From An Extended, Dissipative Emission Region, Michael P. Hickey Ph.D., G. Schubert, R. L. Walterscheid Aug 1993

Gravity Wave-Driven Fluctuations In The O2 Atmospheric (0-1) Nightglow From An Extended, Dissipative Emission Region, Michael P. Hickey Ph.D., G. Schubert, R. L. Walterscheid

Publications

The wave-driven fluctuations in the O2(0-1) atmospheric nightglow is modeled and the parameter (eta) is calculated using a model that accounts for either three-body recombination of atomic oxygen atoms alone to form the O2(b exp 1 Sigma(g)(+)) state directly, or by the further inclusion of the process that allows the formation of the O2(c exp 1 Sigma(u)(-)) intermediate state. The calculations are performed for a latitude of 18 deg N and for the months of March and June. The general results, which display how (eta) varies with wave period, horizontal wavelength, season, and chemical scheme, show that for given values …


Seasonal And Latitudinal Variations Of Gravity Wave-Driven Fluctuations In Oh Nightglow, Michael P. Hickey Ph.D., R. L. Walterscheid, G. Schubert Oct 1992

Seasonal And Latitudinal Variations Of Gravity Wave-Driven Fluctuations In Oh Nightglow, Michael P. Hickey Ph.D., R. L. Walterscheid, G. Schubert

Publications

The seasonal and latitudinal variations of the gravity wave-driven fluctuations in the OH nightglow are investigated theoretically using a model that accounts for emission from an extended OH layer and includes the effects of eddy diffusivities in the gravity wave dynamics. The mean (unperturbed) state is obtained from a two-dimensional, nighttime model so that mean-state number densities, temperatures and eddy diffusivities are all self-consistent. Seasonal and latitudinal variations in the background OH nightglow emission and in the propagation and dissipation characteristics of the gravity waves influence how the OH nightglow modulations due to gravity waves depend on season and latitude. …


Gravity Wave-Driven Fluctuations In Oh Nightglow From An Extended, Dissipative Emission Region, G. Schubert, R. L. Walterscheid, Michael P. Hickey Ph.D. Aug 1991

Gravity Wave-Driven Fluctuations In Oh Nightglow From An Extended, Dissipative Emission Region, G. Schubert, R. L. Walterscheid, Michael P. Hickey Ph.D.

Publications

The theory of gravity wave-driven fluctuations in the OH nightglow from an extended source region is generalized to account for effects of eddy kinematic viscosity ν and eddy thermal diffusivity κ. In the nondiffusive case, the amplitudes and phases of vertically integrated normalized intensity 〈δI〉/〈Ī〉 and temperature 〈δTI〉/〈ĪI〉perturbations and vertically integrated Krassovsky's ratio 〈η〉 as functions of period are influenced by the upper limit of vertical integration of the extended source, especially at long periods when vertical wavelengths λᵥ are small. The effects, which include oscillations in 〈δT〉/〈Ī〉 , and 〈η〉, particularly at long …