Distribution of the O[SUB]2[/SUB] infrared nightglow observed with VIRTIS on board Venus Express

Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects: Venus; Planetary Sciences: Fluid Planets: Atmospheres (0343; 1060); Planetary Sciences: Fluid Planets: Composition (1060); Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Thermosphere: composition and chemistry

Abstract :

[en] We present characteristics of the statistical horizontal distribution of the O[SUB]2[/SUB] infrared nightglow over most of the southern hemisphere observed with the VIRTIS instrument over a period spanning nearly 11 months of low solar activity. We show that the distribution is inhomogeneous with the regions of brightest emission reaching ~3 MegaRayleighs (MR) located at low latitude near and dawnward of the midnight meridian. The hemispherically averaged nadir brightness is 1.3 MR, in very good agreement with earlier ground based observations. We show that the dayside supply of O atoms is sufficient to produce the observed global O[SUB]2[/SUB] nightglow if approximately 50% of the dayside O production is carried to the nightside by the subsolar to antisolar global circulation. Limb profiles observed at northern mid-latitudes exhibit large intensity variations over short time periods. Calculations with a one-dimensional chemical diffusive model produce an airglow peak at 96 km, in agreement with the limb observations. The atomic oxygen density derived from the best fits to O[SUB]2[/SUB] airglow limb profiles reaches a maximum of 1.8-3.5 × 10[SUP]11[/SUP] cm[SUP]-3[/SUP] at 104 km.

Disciplines :

Space science, astronomy & astrophysics

Author, co-author :

Gérard, Jean-Claude ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP)

Saglam, Adem ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP)

Piccioni, G.

Drossart, P.

Cox, Cédric ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP)

Erard, S.

Hueso, R.

Sánchez-Lavega, A.

Language :

English

Title :

Distribution of the O[SUB]2[/SUB] infrared nightglow observed with VIRTIS on board Venus Express

Publication date :

01 January 2008

Journal title :

Geophysical Research Letters

ISSN :

0094-8276

eISSN :

1944-8007

Publisher :

American Geophysical Union, Washington, United States - District of Columbia

Volume :

Pages :

02207

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008GeoRL..3502207G

Available on ORBi :

since 23 November 2009

Statistics

Number of views

65 (7 by ULiège)

Number of downloads

56 (0 by ULiège)

More statistics

Scopus citations^®

Scopus citations^®
without self-citations

OpenCitations

OpenAlex citations

Bibliography

Allen, D., D. Crisp, and V. Meadows (1992), Variable oxygen airglow on Venus as a probe of atmospheric dynamics, Nature, 359, 516.
Bates, D. R. (1988), Excitation and quenching of the oxygen bands in the nightglow, Planet Space Sci., 36, 875.
Bertaux, J.-L., et al. (2007), A warm layer in Venus' cryosphere and high-altitude measurements of HF, HCl, H2O and HDO, Nature, 450, 549-646, doi:10.1038/nature05974.
Bougher, S. W., and W. J. Borucki (1994), Venus O2 visible and IR nightglow: Implications for lower thermosphere dynamics and chemistry, J. Geophys. Res., 99, 3759.
Bougher, S. W., S. Raffin, and P. Drossart (2006), Dynamics of the Venus upper atmosphere: Outstanding problems and new constraints expected from Venus Express, Planet Space Sci., 54, 1371.
Connes, P., J. F. Noxon, W. A. Traub, and N. P. Carleton (19-79), O2 (1Δ) emission in the day and night airglow of Venus, Astraphys. J, 233, L29.
Crisp, D., V. S. Meadows, B. Bézard, C. de Bergh, J.-P. Maillard, and F. P. Mills (1996), Ground-based near-infrared observations of the Venus nightside: 1.27-μm 02 (a 1Δg) airglow from the upper atmosphere, J. Geophys. Res., 101, 4577.
Drossart, P., et al. (2007a), Scientific goals for the observation of Venus by VIRTIS on ESA/Venus Express mission, Planet. Space, 55, 1653, doi:10.10 16/j.pss.2007.01.003.
Drossart, P., et al. (2007b), A dynamic upper atmosphere of Venus as revealed by VIRTIS on Venus Express, Nature, 450, 641-645, doi:10.1038/nature06140.
Gérard, J.-C., A. I. F. Stewart, and S. W. Bougher (1981), The altitude distribution of the Venus nightglow and implications on vertical transport, Geophys. Res. Lett., 8, 633.
Hedin, A. E., H. B. Niemann, W. T. Kasprzak, and A. Seiff (1983), Global empirical model of the Venus thermosphere, J. Geophys. Res., 88, 73.
Keating, G. M., et al. (1985), Venus international reference atmosphere, Adv. Space Res., 5, 117.
Krasnopolsky, V. A. (1986), Oxygen emissions in the night airglow of the Earth, Venus, and Mars, Planet. Space Sci., 34, 511.
Lellouch, E., T. Clancy, D. Crisp, A. Kliore, D. Titov, and S. W. Bougher (1997), Monitoring of mesospheric structure and dynamics, in Venus, vol. 2, Geology, Geophysics, Atmosphere, and Solar Wind Environment, edited by S. W. Bougher, D. M. Hunten, and R. J. Philips, pp. 295-324, Univ. of Ariz. Press, Tucson.
Len, M. T., and Y. L. Yung (1987), Determination Of the O1 (1Δ) and O2 (1∑) yields in the reaction O + CIO = Cl + O2: Implications for photochemistry in the atmosphere of Venus, Geophys. Res. Lett., 14, 949.
Massie, S. T., D. M. Hunter, and D. T. Sowell (1983), Day and night models of the Venus thermosphere, J. Geophys. Res., 88, 3955.
Miller, H. C., J. E. McCord, J. Choy, and G. D. Hager (2001), Measurement of the radiative lifetime of O2 (a1Δg) using cavity ring down spectroscopy, J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transfer, 69, 305, doi:10.1016/S0022-4073 (00)00086-8.
Ohtsuki, S., N. Iwagami, H. Sagawa, H. Kasaba, Y. Ueno, and M. Imamura (2005), Groundbased observation of the Venus 1.27-μm O2 airglow, Adv. Space, 36, 2038.
Slanger, T., D. L. Huestis, P. C. Cosby, N. J. Chanover, and T. A. Bida (2006), The Venus nightglow ground-based observations and chemical mechanisms, Icarus, 182, 1.
Stewart, A. I. F., J. C. Gérard, D. W. Rusch, and S. W. Bougher (1980), Morphology of the Venus ultraviolet night airglow, J. Geophys. Res., 85, 7861.
von Zahn, U., K. H. Fricke, D. M. Hunten, D. Krankowsky, K. Mauersberger, and A. O. Nier (1980), The upper atmosphere of Venus during morning conditions, J. Geophys. Res., 85, 7829.
Wayne, R. P. (1994), Singlet oxygen in the environmental sciences, Res. Chem. Intermed., 20, 395.