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Abreu, V. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Abreu, V. J..

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

Remote sensing of mesospheric winds with the High-Resolution Doppler Imager

Observations of the winds in the upper atmosphere obtained with the High-Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI) on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) are discussed. This instrument is a very stable high-resolution triple-etalon Fabry-Perot interferometer, which is used to observe the slight Doppler shifts of absorption and emission lines in the O2 Atmospheric bands induced by atmospheric motions. Preliminary observations indicate that the winds in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere are a mixture of migrating and non-migrating tides, and planetary-scale waves. The mean meridional winds are dominated by the 1,1 diurnal tide which is easily extracted from the daily zonal means of the satellite observations. The daily mean zonal winds are a mixture of the diurnal tide and a zonal flow which is consistent with theoretical expectations.

Hays, Paul B.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Low-latitude thermospheric neutral winds determined from AE-E measurements of the 6300-A nightglow at solar maximum

Atmosphere Explorer E (AE-E) measurements of the O(1D) 6300-A emission in the nighttime equatorial thermosphere are used to infer the height of the F2 layer peak as a function of latitude and local time. The investigation is conducted both for northern hemisphere winter solstice and for spring equinox, under solar maximum conditions. The layer heights are used to derive magnetic meridional components of the transequatorial neutral wind, in conjunction with the MSIS-86 model and previous Jicamarca incoherent scatter measurements of the zonal electric field. The AE-E wind estimates indicate a predominant summer to winter flow for the winter solstice case. Comparisons are made with the empirical horizontal wind model HWM87 and with winds generated by the thermospheric general circulation model. The model predictions and experimental results are generally in good agreement, confirming the applicability of visible airglow data to studies of the global neutral wind pattern.

Burrage, M. D.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Absorption line profiles in a moving atmosphere - A single scattering linear perturbation theory

An integral equation is derived which linearly relates Doppler perturbations in the spectrum of atmospheric absorption features to the wind system which creates them. The perturbation theory is developed using a single scattering model, which is validated against a multiple scattering calculation. The nature and basic properties of the kernels in the integral equation are examined. It is concluded that the kernels are well behaved and that wind velocity profiles can be recovered using standard inversion techniques.

Hays, P. B.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Atmosphere Explorer observations of the geocoronal H Balmer alpha nightglow

The Balmer alpha nightglow emission of geocoronal atomic hydrogen has been investigated using photometric data obtained by the Visible Airglow Experiment on board the Atmosphere Explorer E satellite. The measured H Balmer alpha intensities are presented as a function of solar depression angle, observation zenith angle, and azimuth relative to the sun for solar minimum conditions. The results are at variance with the earlier D2A satellite observations but in better agreement with previous ground-based studies. As a result of comparison with theoretical predictions, the present observations reaffirm the findings of the ground-based investigations in implying that values for the Lyman beta line center flux are a factor of 2 greater than those derived from direct measurements.

Burrage, M. D.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Mesospheric 5577 A green line and atmospheric motions - Atmosphere Explorer satellite observations

Photometric measurements of the 5577 A O(1S) green line mesospheric emission obtained by the Visible Airglow Experiment on board the Atmosphere Explorer satellite have been analyzed. The inverted volume emission rate profiles showed a peak at approximately 96-97 km with a half-width of about 8 km. The diurnal variation of the intensity indicates the presence of a wave component with a 10 to about 12 h period, probably of solar semidiurnal tide. Shorter time scale variations due to the presence of traveling waves were also observed.

Yee, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS1986

The dayglow of the O2 atmospheric band system

The dayglow of the O2 atmospheric O2(1Sigma) band system has been simulated by taking into account the three main production mechanisms of the O2(1Sigma) state resonance fluorescence, a photochemical term due to quenching of O(1D), and a pure chemical process. Values of the emission rate, which are involved in the resonant scattering of the O2 atmospheric bands (A, B, and gamma), have been obtained as a function of altitude (0-120 km) and solar zenith angle using a line-by-line calculation. The values of the emission rate, along with updated rate coefficients, have been used in the calculation of the production rate of O2(1Sigma) and the volume emission rate of the (O2 1Sigma, v prime = 0)-(O2 3Sigma, v double prime = 0) transition. The results of these calculations are compared to observational measurements and are found to be in excellent agreement.

Bucholtz, A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

The quenching rate of O(1D) by O(3P)

The rate coefficient for the quenching of O(1D) by O(3P) has recently been calculated by Yee et al. (1985). Their results indicate that quenching by atomic oxygen should not be ignored in the analysis of the 6300 A emission airglow. Data obtained by the Visible Airglow Experiment on board the AE satellites have been reanalyzed to determine the quenching rate of O(1D) by atomic oxygen. The results of this analysis are presented.

Abreu, V. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Tomographic inversion of satellite photometry. II

A method for combining nadir observations of emission features in the upper atmosphere with the result of a tomographic inversion of limb brightness measurements is presented. Simulated and actual results are provided, and error sensitivity is investigated.

Solomon, S. C.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The Atmosphere Explorer optical glow near the perigee altitudes

The altitude variation of the Atmosphere Explorer optical glow intensity suggests that two different processes are responsible for the glow. One, dominant for altitudes above 180 km, has an emission brightness proportional to the ambient atomic oxygen density whereas the other, dominant at altitudes below 160 km, produces an emission whose intensity is proportional to the product of the densities of any of N2, O2 or NO. The first mechanism apparently has two components, one from the surface recombination of O and H and the other from a process similar to that producing the Shuttle glow. Unless the efficiency of the second mechanism is much enhanced on the Shuttle its contribution to the Shuttle glow is negligible.

Yee, J.-H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Wind measurements with the High Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI)

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), to be launched in 1989, is to provide a global data set required to understand the mechanisms controlling upper atmosphere structure and processes, as well as the response of the upper atmosphere to natural and human perturbations. The High Resolution Doppler Imager (HRDI) is the primary instrument for measuring the dynamics of the stratosphere and mesosphere. The goal of HRDI is to measure wind velocities in the stratosphere and mesosphere during the day and the mesosphere and thermosphere at night with an accuracy of 5 m/sec. HRDI will determine winds by measuring Doppler shifts of atmosphere absorption and emission features. Line of sight winds will be taken in two directions, thus allowing the wind vector to be formed. The HRDI instrument is overviewed. The basis of the measurement is explained, as is an outline of the instrument. Since neither instrument nor observational techniques is fully mature, only a brief sketch is presented.

Skinner, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Characteristics of the spacecraft optical glow

The optical glow induced by spacecraft-environment interaction under daytime conditions is analyzed using photometric data obtained by the Visible Airglow Experiment on board the Atmospheric Explorer Satellite. Because of the increased ambient oxygen density, the glow is more intense in the daytime. The daytime production efficiency, meausured in Rayleighs per oxygen atom, is similar to the nighttime value. No dependence of the glow intensity on the ambient plasma density was found. The production efficiency increased with time throughout the duration of the spacecraft in orbit.

Yee, J.-H.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Tomographic inversion of satellite photometry

An inversion algorithm capable of reconstructing the volume emission rate of thermospheric airglow features from satellite photometry has been developed. The accuracy and resolution of this technique are investigated using simulated data, and the inversions of several sets of observations taken by the Visible Airglow Experiment are presented.

Solomon, S. C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The OI 989-A tropical nightglow

Attention is given to the morphology and origin of the OI 989 A emission in the tropical nightglow. Dielectronic recombination of O(+) is suggested as the mechanism responsible for populating the 3s' 3D0 state of this 2p4 3P 3s' 3D0 emission. The spectrometer used is that aboard the STP 78-1 satellite, which is in sun-synchronous orbit. The emission morphology is characterized by tropical arcs on each side of the dip equator.

Abreu, V. J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Auroral photometry from the atmosphere Explorer satellite

Attention is given to the ability of remote sensing from space to yield quantitative auroral and ionospheric parametrers, in view of the auroral measurements made during two passes of the Explorer C satellite over the Poker Flat Optical Observatory and the Chatanika Radar Facility. The emission rate of the N2(+) 4278 A band computed from intensity measurements of energetic auroral electrons has tracked the same spetral feature that was measured remotely from the satellite over two decades of intensity, providing a stringent test for the measurement of atmospheric scattering effects. It also verifies the absolute intensity with respect to ground-based photometric measurements. In situ satellite measurments of ion densities and ground based electron density profile radar measurements provide a consistent picture of the ionospheric response to auroral input, while also predicting the observed optical emission rate.

Rees, M. H.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Joule heating at high latitudes

Calculations based on simultaneous observations of the electric field magnitude, and individual measurements of ion drift velocity and particle precipitation, over the lifetime of the AE-C satellite, are used to determine high latitude Joule heating. Conductivities produced by an averaged seasonal illumination were included with those calculated from particle precipitation. It is found that high latitude Joule heating occurs in an approximately oval pattern, and consists of dayside cleft, dawn and dusk sunward convection, and night sector heating regions. On average, heating in the cleft and dawn-dusk regions contributes the largest heat input, and there is no apparent difference between hemispheres for similar seasons. Joule heat input is 50 percent greater in summer than in winter, due primarily to the greater conductivity caused by solar production.

Foster, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The dissociative recombination of O2(+) - The quantum yield of O(1S) and O(1D)

Data from the visible airglow experiment on the Atmosphere Explorer-E satellite have been used to determine the quantum yield of O(1S) and O(1D) from the dissociative recombination of O2(+). A range of values between 0.09 and 0.23 has been obtained for the quantum yield of O(1S). It is shown that the quantum yield of O(1S) depends on the ratio of electron density to atomic oxygen density. This suggests that the quantum yield of O(1S) may depend on the degree of vibrational excitation of the recombining O2(+). The quantum yield of O(1D) has been measured to be 1.23 + or - 0.42, with no dependence on the electron-oxygen ratio.

Abreu, V. J.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Atmospheric scattering effects on ground-based measurements of thermospheric winds

Convergent or divergent thermospheric wind patterns detected by ground-based Fabry-Perot interferometric measurements of the Doppler shifts of atomic lines are demonstrated to occur in the presence of strong intensity gradients and a scattering atmosphere. Consideration is given to the color shifts observed when sighting to the north or the south, and a numerical model is developed to describe the wind patterns which produce the recorded shifts. An account is taken of the direct and scattered components of the brightness, with the atmosphere treated as a single scattering layer with a reflecting surface underneath. A scattering coefficient is calculated, together with the line shape of the wavelength shifts. The scattered light is demonstrated, both through simulations and measurements taken near Calgary, Alberta, to produce convergence or divergence of the color shifts, depending on the line-of-sight of the viewing.

Abreu, V. J.↗