HR: 0800h
AN: SA41A-1043 [Abstracts]
TI: Analysis of the SABER 4.3-$\mu$m Nighttime Radiance and Implications for the Temperature and CO$_2$ vmr
Retrieval
AU: * Garcia-Comas, M
EM: maya@iaa.es
AF: Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (CSIC), Apdo. 3004, Granada, E-18080
Spain
AU: Lopez-Puertas, M
EM: puertas@iaa.es
AF: Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (CSIC), Apdo. 3004, Granada, E-18080
Spain
AU: Funke, B
EM: bernd@iaa.es
AF: Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (CSIC), Apdo. 3004, Granada, E-18080
Spain
AU: Picard, R H
EM: richard.picard@hanscom.af.mil
AF: Air Force Research Laboratory, 29 Randolph Road, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731
United States
AU: Wintersteiner, P P
EM: winters@arcon.com
AF: Arcon Corporation, 260 Bear Hill Road, Waltham, MA 02451
United States
AU: Winick, J R
EM: jeremy.winick@hanscom.afb.mil
AF: Air Force Research Laboratory, 29 Randolph Road, Hanscom AFB, MA 01731
United States
AU: Mlynczak, M G
EM: m.g.mlynczak@larc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA Langley Research Center, Mail Stop 420, Hampton, VA 23681
United States
AU: Mertens, C J
EM: c.j.mertens@larc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA Langley Research Center, Mail Stop 420, Hampton, VA 23681
United States
AU: Russell, J M
EM: james.russell@hamptonu.edu
AF: Hampton University, 23 Tyler Street, Hampton, VA 23681
United States
AU: Gordley, L L
EM: l.l.gordley@gats-inc.com
AF: G&A Technical Software, 11864 Canon Blvd., Newport News, VA 23606
United States
AB:
The Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument measures the
CO$_2$ 4.3-$\mu$m nighttime emission with a signal-to-noise ratio which equals to 1 at 130 km. These measurements
can be used to derive the carbon dioxide abundance above 75\,km during nighttime. CO$_2$ abundance is needed not
only to understand the energy balance of the MLT region but also to accurately derive the kinetic temperature in that
region from the measurements taken at 15-$\mu$m. However, the nighttime non-LTE mechanisms affecting the 4.3-$\mu$m CO$_2$
vibrational state population are not well
known and therefore CO$_2$ abundance cannot still be accurately retrieved from SABER measurements at night.
The analysis of SABER nighttime measurements at 4.3-$\mu$m presented here shows that the radiance is
reproduced only if an efficient energy transfer from OH to CO$_2$ via N$_2$ , whereby 2.8-3 N$_2$(1) molecules are
excited after quenching of one OH($\upsilon$), is considered. We also present the implications of including such a process in
the simultaneous T$_k$/CO$_2$ retrieval results.
DE: 0310 Airglow and aurora
DE: 0317 Chemical kinetic and photochemical properties
DE: 0340 Middle atmosphere--composition and chemistry
SC: SPA-Aeronomy [SA]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting