HR: 08:15h
AN: SA21A-02    [PDF]
TI: Atomic Oxygen Depletion Observations in a Diffuse Aurora
AU: * Patterson, P
EM: patp@sdl.usu.edu
AF: Utah State University Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 4120 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322
AU: Swenson, C
EM: Charles.Swenson@usu.edu
AF: Utah State University Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 4120 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322
AU: Melville, K
EM: Keith.Melville@sdl.usu.edu
AF: Utah State University Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 4120 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322
AU: Christensen, A B
EM: Andrew.B.Christensen@aero.org
AF: The Aerospace Corporation, 2350 E. El Segundo Blvd., El Segundo, CA 90245-4691
AU: Clemmons, J
EM: James.H.Clemmons@aero.org
AF: The Aerospace Corporation, 2350 E. El Segundo Blvd., El Segundo, CA 90245-4691
AB: An Atomic Oxygen sensor was launched aboard the Coupling of Dynamics and Aurora (CODA) payload at 06:20 LT on January 22, 1999 from Poker Flat, Alaska and again at 0:55 LT on February 21, 2001, both into diffuse auroras. Atomic oxygen profiles were measured in situ by a combination of resonance and florescence techniques. Comparison of the data reveals significant structural differences between the two flights. While the first flight shows similar densities and layer thickness on the upleg and downleg portions, the second flight records a significant erosion of the top side atomic oxygen profile over a 30 km horizontal extent. One possible explanation is that turbulent mixing forced by the diffuse aurora is driving the atomic oxygen recombination rate. This data indicates the spatial scales over which composition changes can occur in the auroral regions and give insight into the O/N$_2$ ratios measured by GUVI on the TIMED spacecraft.
DE: 0355 Thermosphere--composition and chemistry
DE: 0358 Thermosphere--energy deposition
DE: 0394 Instruments and techniques
DE: 2407 Auroral ionosphere (2704)
SC: SPA - Aeronomy [SA]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting