Thermospheric molecular oxygen

E-ISSN： 2156-2202|87|A3|1727-1732

ISSN： 0148-0227

Source： Journal Of Geophysical Research, Vol.87, Iss.A3, 1982-03, pp. : 1727-1732

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Abstract

Thermospheric studies to date have relied heavily on model values of O₂ concentration, which are in turn indirectly derived. This paper reports the results of a comparison of a large data base of directly measured O₂ concentrations with the concentrations obtained from the MSIS model atmosphere. For concentrations of 10¹⁰cm⁻³ the direct measurements are larger than the model values by up to 50%. For concentrations of 10⁸cm⁻³ the measured values are in agreement with the model to within 10%. A comparison is made of the computed major thermospheric species by using both the MSIS and the measured O₂ concentrations. The impact is largest in the odd nitrogen species NO, N(⁴S), and N⁺, where the difference in concentration can be as much as 70%, and also on O₂⁺.