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Altitude Variation of the CO2 (V2)-O Quenching Rate Coefficient in Mesosphere and Lower ThermosphereAmong the processes governing the energy balance in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (mlt), the quenching of CO2(N2) vibrational levels by collisions with oxygen atoms plays an important role. However, the k(CO2-O) values measured in the lab and retrieved from atmospheric measurements vary from 1.5 x 10(exp -12) cubic centimeters per second through 9.0 x 10(exp -12) cubic centimeters per second that requires further studying. In this work we used synergistic data from a ground based lidar and a satellite infrared radiometer to estimate K(CO2-O). We used the night- and daytime temperatures between 80 and 110 km measured by the colorado state university narrow-band sodium (Na) lidar located at fort collins, colorado (41N, 255E) as ground truth of the saber/timed nearly simultaneous (plus or minus 10 minutes) and common volume (within plus or minus 1 degree in latitude, plus or minus 2 degrees in longitude) observations. For each altitude in 80-110 km interval we estimate an "optimal" value of K(CO2-O) needed to minimize the discrepancy between the simulated 15 mm CO2 radiance and that measured by the saber/timed instrument. The K(CO2-O) obtained in this way varies in altitude from 3.5 x 10(exp -12) cubic centimeters per second at 80 km to 5.2 x 10(exp -12) cubic centimeters pers second for altitudes above 95 km. We discuss this variation of the rate constant and its impact on temperature retrievals from 15 mm radiance measurements and on the energy budget of mlt.
Document ID
20110008584
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Feofilovi, Artem (Catholic Univ. of America Washington, DC, United States)
Kutepov, Alexander (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
She, Chiao-Yao (Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO, United States)
Smith, Anne K. (National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder, CO, United States)
Pesnell, William Dean (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Goldberg, Richard A. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
December 13, 2010
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Meeting Information
Meeting: 2010 Fall American Geophysical Union (AGU) Meeting
Location: San Francisco, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: December 13, 2010
End Date: December 17, 2010
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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