Simulation of the behavior of excited gaseous components in the atmosphere of the Earth: Hot oxygen

摘要

The existence of so-called hot oxygen in the atmosphere is substantiated by optical measurements of airglow at high altitudes. According to these observations, nonthermal oxygen concentration is maximum at an altitude of about 550 km, and its temperature is similar to 4000 K. The presence of these atoms in the thermosphere causes changes in the thermodynamic conditions in the upper atmosphere of the Earth. In this work, we calculated the global distributions of hot oxygen concentrations and temperature using the Global Self-Consistent Model of Thermosphere, Ionosphere, and Protonosphere of the Earth (GSM TIP) taking into account the main photochemical and dynamic processes. Calculations were performed for moderate solar and geomagnetic activity and winter conditions of January, 2003. The hot oxygen maximum was located in latitude 60A degrees South and at longitude 300A degrees at 24 UT, and its temperature was similar to 1500 K. This increased the general temperature of the atmosphere by 100 K in the daytime and 70 K at night. Changes in the speed of neutral gas reached 36 m/s.