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High correlations between temperature and nitric oxide in the thermosphere

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dc.contributor.authorWeimer, Daniel R.en
dc.contributor.authorMlynczak, M. G.en
dc.contributor.authorHunt, L. A.en
dc.contributor.authorTobiska, W. K.en
dc.contributor.departmentElectrical and Computer Engineeringen
dc.contributor.departmentCenter for Space Science and Engineering Research (Space@VT)en
dc.date.accessioned2017-03-03T17:18:10Zen
dc.date.available2017-03-03T17:18:10Zen
dc.date.issued2015-07-01en
dc.description.abstractObtaining accurate predictions of the neutral density in the thermosphere has been a long-standing problem. During geomagnetic storms the auroral heating in the polar ionospheres quickly raises the temperature of the thermosphere, resulting in higher neutral densities that exert a greater drag force on objects in low Earth orbit. Rapid increases and decreases in the temperature and density may occur within a couple days. A key parameter in the thermosphere is the total amount of nitric oxide (NO). The production of NO is accelerated by the auroral heating, and since NO is an efficient radiator of thermal energy, higher concentrations of this molecule accelerate the rate at which the thermosphere cools. This paper describes an improved technique that calculates changes in the global temperature of the thermosphere. Starting from an empirical model of the Poynting flux into the ionosphere, a set of differential equations derives the minimum, global value of the exospheric temperature, which can be used in a neutral density model to calculate the global values. The relative variations in NO content are used to obtain more accurate cooling rates. Comparisons with the global rate of NO emissions that are measured with the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry instrument show that there is very good agreement with the predicted values. The NO emissions correlate highly with the total auroral heating that has been integrated over time. We also show that the NO emissions are highly correlated with thermospheric temperature, as well as indices of solar extreme ultraviolet radiation.en
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.extent5998 - 6009 (12) page(s)en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1002/2015JA021461en
dc.identifier.issn2169-9380en
dc.identifier.issue7en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/75225en
dc.identifier.volume120en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherAmerican Geophysical Unionen
dc.relation.urihttp://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000360381400056&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=930d57c9ac61a043676db62af60056c1en
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.holderThe Author(s)en
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/en
dc.subjectAstronomy & Astrophysicsen
dc.subjectnitric oxideen
dc.subjectthermosphereen
dc.subjectneutral densityen
dc.subjectexosphereen
dc.subjectTemperatureen
dc.subjectIonospheric Electrodynamic Modelsen
dc.subjectPolar-Cap Indexen
dc.subjectTerrestrial Thermosphereen
dc.subjectSolar Stormsen
dc.subjectApril 2002en
dc.subjectArten
dc.subjectDensityen
dc.subjectEnergyen
dc.titleHigh correlations between temperature and nitric oxide in the thermosphereen
dc.title.serialJournal of Geophysical Research-Space Physicsen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Techen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Engineeringen
pubs.organisational-group/Virginia Tech/Engineering/Electrical and Computer Engineeringen

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