HR: 10:35h
AN: SA42A-02    [Abstracts]
TI: TIMED/SABER Observations of 4.3 um Emission during Solar-Geomagnetic Storms: Analysis of Ionospheric E-region Chemistry, Kinetics, and Radiation Transfer
AU: * Mertens, C J
EM: c.j.mertens@larc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA Langley Research Center, 21 Langley Blvd., Mail Stop 401B, Hampton, VA 23681- 2199, United States
AU: Winick, J R
EM: jeremy.winick@hanscom.af.mil
AF: Air Force Research Laboratories, 29 Randolph Rd, Hanscom, MA 01731-3010, United States
AU: Russell, J M
EM: james.russell@hamptonu.edu
AF: Center for Atmospheric Sciences, Hampton University, 23 Tyler St., Hampton, VA 23688, United States
AU: Mlynczak, M G
EM: m.g.mlynczak@larc.nasa.gov
AF: NASA Langley Research Center, 21 Langley Blvd., Mail Stop 401B, Hampton, VA 23681- 2199, United States
AU: Evans, D S
EM: david.s.evans@noaa.gov
AF: NOAA Space Environment Center, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80303, United States
AU: Xu, X
EM: xiaojing_xu@saaihq.com
AF: SSAI, Inc., 1 Enterprise Pkwy, Hampton, VA 23666, United States
AB: Nighttime thermospheric infrared emission at 4.3 um was enhanced by several orders of magnitude during recent solar-geomagnetic storms, as observed by the TIMED/SABER instrument. Auroral electron dosing followed by ion-neutral chemical reactions leads to vibrationally excited NO+ and emission at 4.3 um in the ionospheric E- region. Consequently, nighttime measurements from the SABER 4.3 um radiometer channel provide an excellent dataset to: (1) monitor the global E-region response to solar-geomagnetic disturbances, and (2) conduct a detailed study of E-region electron dosing, ion-neutral chemistry, and energy transfer processes. Specifically, we derive NO+ 4.3 um volume emission rates (VER) from SABER 4.3um limb emission measurements during the April 2002 and October-November 2003 solar storms. The SABER-derived NO+(v) VERs are an observation- based proxy to study storm-induced E-region electron density enhancements and assess current understanding of E-region chemistry and kinetics. NO+(v) VER is derived by removing the contribution of CO2(nu3) from the SABER 4.3 um channel, followed by a standard Abel inversion on the residual radiance. The CO2(nu3) contribution to the SABER 4.3 um channel is modeled using temperature, pressure and CO2 abundance Level 2 data products retrieved from SABER, non-LTE CO2 and infrared radiation transfer models. We have shown in previous studies that the CO2(nu3) contribution can be adequately modeled and removed during magnetically disturbed conditions, which leads to the following objectives of this study. Thus, the first objective of this paper is to study the global morphology of the SABER-derived NO+(v) during the April 2002 and Halloween 2003 solar- geomagnetic storms. The second objective is to asses current understanding of E-region chemistry and kinetics by modeling the SABER-derived NO+(v) during the magnetically disturbed periods using the field-line interhemispheric plasma (FLIP) model, dynamically driven by NOAA/POES measurements of auroral electron energy characteristics, and an NO+(v) chemical-kinetics model.
DE: 0355 Thermosphere: composition and chemistry
DE: 2407 Auroral ionosphere (2704)
DE: 2427 Ionosphere/atmosphere interactions (0335)
DE: 3359 Radiative processes
DE: 3360 Remote sensing
SC: SPA-Aeronomy [SA]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly