HR: 16:15h
AN: SA34A-02    [Abstracts]
TI: Causes of Sub-Auroral Variability of Nitric Oxide in the Thermosphere
AU: * Talaat, E R
EM: elsayed.talaat@jhuapl.edu
AF: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723 United States
AU: Yee, J
EM: sam.yee@jhuapl.edu
AF: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723 United States
AU: Crowley, G
EM: gcrowley@swri.edu
AF: SouthWest Research Institute, 6220 Culebra Road, San Antonio, TX 78238 United States
AU: Russell, J
EM: james.russell@hamptonu.edu
AF: Hampton University, 23 Tyler Street, Hampton, VA 23688 United States
AU: Mlynczak, M
EM: m.g.mlynczak@larc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA Langley Research Center, Mail Stop 420 Atmospheric Sciences Research, Hampton, VA 23681 United States
AU: Roble, R
EM: roble@ucar.edu
AF: National Center for Atmospheric Research, 3450 Mitchell Lane, Boulder, CO 80301 United States
AU: Bailey, S
EM: scott.bailey@gi.alaska.edu
AF: University of Alaska Geophysical Institute, 903 Koyukuk Dr, Fairbanks, AK 99775 United States
AB: Nitric Oxide (NO) is an important variable radiative cooling agent in the thermosphere and it becomes even more important during geomagnetically disturbed periods. Understanding the global distribution of NO and its temporal and spatial evolution under extreme conditions is critical for understanding the energy balance in the thermosphere. The NO concentration is mainly controlled by its production through mechanisms related to solar EUV irradiance, solar soft x-rays, and auroral particle precipitation, and by its destruction through its reactions with oxygen. Depending on altitude, transport may also play a role in the redistribution of NO spatially, especially for the observed enhancement at low-latitudes after major geomagnetic storms. In this paper we will assess the significance of these potential causes of NO variability by interpreting satellite measurements of thermospheric densities, NO 5.3 micron radiance, and auroral particle precipitation characteristics, and by using a 3D general circulation model of the middle and upper atmosphere, the TIME-GCM.
DE: 0355 Thermosphere: composition and chemistry
DE: 0358 Thermosphere: energy deposition (3369)
DE: 3369 Thermospheric dynamics (0358)
DE: 7519 Flares
SC: SPA-Aeronomy [SA]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005