Atomic oxygen profile measurements

A series of atomic oxygen profiles are presented that show evidence that silver film sensors provide reliable measurements of atomic oxygen density in the 90- to 120-km altitude range. Measurements were made at Wallops Island, Virginia, and Point Barrow, Alaska. The much lower atomic oxygen density observed for the high-latitude winter and spring shots is discussed in terms of the local production of atomic oxygen. Transport of atomic oxygen poleward in winter at altitudes of 120 km and above is implied by these measurements. Currently available production processes and rate constants for the 557.7-nm airglow feature were used to calculate expected airglow intensity from these atomic oxygen profiles. Reasonable airglow values were found by using the mid-latitude atomic oxygen profile, but airglow values much lower than the accepted observational values were inferred from the high-latitude profiles.