Theory of the interaction of gravity waves with O2(¹Σ) airglow

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Abstract
A theory is developed which determines the effect of gravity waves upon chemical reactions in the atmosphere. This theory is then applied in detail to O2(¹Σ) airglow measurements made by Noxon. A theoretical result for OH is given without details. It is shown that fluctuations of O2(¹Σ) airglow can be used to study gravity waves and enhanced diffusion in the vicinity of the atomic oxygen layer (roughly 100 km). This study requires a two‐fluid consideration of gravity waves because the fluctuations of atomic oxygen density are not necessarily in phase with the fluctuations of the major constituent. Neither are the amplitudes equal. It is found that the temperature dependence of the reaction rate constant for O2(¹Σ) and the shape of the atomic oxygen layer both have a major influence on fluctuations of O2(¹Σ) airglow. Inversely, both can be estimated from observations of O2(¹Σ) airglow fluctuations. Eddy diffusion coefficients are estimated from the rate at which the observed airglow intensity increases with time under the assumption that the airglow is horizontally uniform. For OH a separate theoretical calculation is made of the ratio of brightness fluctuations to temperature fluctuations. An important conclusion to be emphasized is that the observed temperature provides a much more reliable diagnostic for studying dynamics than does the observed brightness of O2(¹Σ).

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