Influence of solar variability on the structure, composition,
and energy balance of the atmosphere from 2002 to 2014
The perspective from the mesosphere and thermosphere
Marty Mlynczak
NASA Langley Research Center
Linda Hunt
Science Systems and Applications, Inc.
&
The SABER Science Team
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Acknowledgement
• NASA Heliophysics Division
– TIMED Project; G-I Program; LWS Program
• NASA Langley Research Center
• Johns Hopkins APL
• SABER Science Team
• All of the engineers, program managers, resource analysts,
and contract specialists, who worked so diligently from
1996-1999 to design and build the TIMED satellite and the
four TIMED instruments.
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Outline
• Introduce NASA TIMED Mission and SABER instrument
• Solar Cycle Influence on the Thermosphere
• Solar Cycle Influence on the Mesosphere
• Relation to upper atmosphere trends
• Future prospects
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- Earth’s Mesosphere and Thermosphere 50 to 300 km
Focus
of
Talk
Image courtesy J. Thayer, U. Colorado
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Launched December 2001
74.1 Degree Inclination
625 km Circular Orbit
Routine Operations 12+ Years
Ongoing
to 2015 (at least!)
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SEE – Solar EUV Irradiance
TIDI – Doppler Winds
GUVI – Thermosphere composition
SABER – Meso/Thermo T, comp., Energy
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Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry
-- SABER --
SABER Experiment
•
Limb viewing, 400 km to Earth surface
•
Ten channels 1.27 to 16 mm
•
Over 30 routine data products
including energetics parameters
•
Over 98% of all possible data collected
(6.5 million profiles – per channel!)
•
Focal plane cryo-cooler operating
excellently at 77 K
•
SABER on-orbit performance is
excellent and as-designed
•
Noise levels at or better than
measured on ground
•
Now in 13th year of on-orbit operation
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75 kg, 77 watts, 77 x 104 x 63 cm, 4 kbs
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SABER Channels and Data Products
Over Eight Years and Counting!!
Channel
Wavelength
Data Products
Altitude Range
CO2
15.2 mm
Temperature, pressure, cooling rates
15-100 km
CO2
15.2 mm
Temperature, pressure, cooling rates
15-100 km
CO2
14.8 mm
Temperature, pressure, cooling rates
15-100 km
O3
9.6 mm
Day and Night Ozone, cooling rates
15 - 95 km
H2O
6.3 mm
Water vapor, cooling rates
CO2
4.3 mm
Carbon dioxide, dynamical tracer
NO
5.3 mm
Thermospheric cooling
O2(1D)
1.27 mm
Day O3, solar heating; Night O
50-100 km
OH(u)
2.0 mm
Chemical Heating, photochemistry
80-100 km
OH(u)
1.6 mm
Chemical Heating, photochemistry
80-100 km
15-80 km
90-160 km
100 - 300 km
Over 30 data products including T, CO2, O3, VER, O, H, ∂T/ ∂t
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Solar EUV Variability 2002 - Present
115 – 175 nm
Minimum solar EUV occurs late 2008/early 2009
Will show many plots of changes between 2002 and 2008
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Main Take-Away
SABER data reveal the imprint of solar variability
on the temperature, composition, and energy
balance of the mesosphere and thermosphere
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Thermospheric Radiative Cooling Mechanisms
- figure is to scale in energy u=1
NO
SABER measures cooling rates
due to NO and CO2 infrared emission
5.3 mm
Energy 
1876 cm-1
u=1
CO2(n2)
15 mm
667 cm-1
u=0
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u=0
3P
3P
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O
63 mm, 158 cm-1
2
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Parameters: Radiances; Cooling Rates; Fluxes; and Power
Cooling Rate W m-3
Radiated Flux W m-2
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Daily Radiated Power (W)
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Examples of Thermospheric Radiative Cooling by NO
SABER 5.3 um Energy Loss Rates
300
APRIL 15 2002 (Latitude: 82S)
275
275
250
250
225
225
Altitude (km)
Altitude (km)
300
SABER 5.3 um Energy Loss Rates
200
175
APRIL 18 2002 (Latitude: 82S)
200
175
150
150
125
125
100
0
1e-07 2e-07 3e-07 4e-07 5e-07 6e-07
100
0
Energy Loss Rate (erg/cm3/sec)
1e-07 2e-07 3e-07 4e-07 5e-07 6e-07
Energy Loss Rate (erg/cm3/sec)
Note altitude range of the measurement!
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Solar Cycle Influence on
Global Annual Mean Nitric Oxide Cooling Rate
Note
Units!
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Solar Cycle Influence on
Global Annual Mean Carbon Dioxide Cooling Rate
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Daily CO2 Power (W) Radiated from Thermosphere
Observed periods of 6.75, 9, 13.5, 27, 180, 360 days up to 11 years
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Deseasonalized CO2 Thermospheric Infrared Power
Approximately 1 Trillion kWh (3.6 x 1018 J) more energy radiated in 2002 than 2013
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Daily Nitric Oxide (NO) Power Radiated from Thermosphere
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Deseasonalized Nitric Oxide Thermospheric IR Power
Approximately 1 Trillion kWh (3.6 x 1018 J)more energy radiated in 2002 than 2013
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Mesosphere
• SABER measurements (subset)
– T, O3, O, H, and CO2 cooling rates
• All parameters exhibit response to solar cycle from 2002 to
present
• Atomic species O, H are particularly important to the energy
balance of the mesopause region (80-100 km)
– Exothermic chemical reactions and infrared cooling
• Atomic hydrogen (H) is found to be out of phase with its response
to the solar cycle
– H observed to increase while other parameters typically decrease
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SABER Zonal Average Night Temperatures 50 – 105 km
- 2002 and 2008 -
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Solar Cycle Influence on Night M/LT Temperature
Note strong variations with latitude and altitude!
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Solar Cycle Influence on Day M/LT Temperature
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Night Zonal Annual Average Atomic Oxygen
2002 and 2008
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Solar Cycle Influence on Atomic Oxygen (Night)
[O] changes in phase with solar activity!
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Solar Cycle Influence on Atomic Oxygen (Day)
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Night Zonal Annual Average Atomic Hydrogen
2002 and 2008
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Zonal Annual Average Night Atomic Hydrogen
Unlike all other parameters, [H] increases as solar activity decreases!
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Zonal Annual Average Day Atomic Hydrogen
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Inverse Relation with Solar Cycle due to Temperature
The basic equation used to derive night H:
Ratio of H at solar minimum to solar maximum is given by:
H min
H max
æ Tmax ö æ Tmax ö exp(- 470 / Tmax ) (O / O3 )min
= ç
÷ ç
÷
è Tmin ø è Tmin ø exp(-470 / Tmin ) (O / O3 )max
2.4
2.0
H is inversely dependent on temperature and directly
dependent on the O/O3 ratio
Observed 5 K decrease in temperature corresponds
to ~ 15-20% increase in H
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Increasing CO2 predicted to cool the mesosphere and
thermosphere substantially in coming decades
SABER data provide first assessment of observed natural variability of the
thermosphere cooling
These are essential to understand before beginning to assess trends
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Summary
• The imprint of the solar cycle is evident throughout the
mesosphere and thermosphere from 2002 to today
• This imprint is clearly evident in temperature, composition,
and energetics
• All responses, with exception of H, are positively correlated
with solar variability
• SABER data are the first nearly complete and consistent set of
data needed to understand solar cycle response of M/LT
• SABER observations are just now becoming long enough to
see trends above natural variability
• Routine observations approved through 2015 and we hope for
up to at least 3-5 years beyond that
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Backups
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Deseasonalized Kp Index
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Deseasonalized SEE Irradiance
0 – 200 nm
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Ozone Night
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Ozone Daytime
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CO2 Radiative Cooling Rate (K/day)
Annual Zonal Means, 2002 and 2008
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Change in CO2 Cooling Rate (K/day)
2002 to 2008
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