Tidal influence on O(1S) airglow emission rate distributions at the geographic equator as observed by WINDII

WINDII, the Wind Imaging Interferometer on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, observes winds, temperatures and emission rates in the upper mesosphere and thermosphere. In this paper we report on nighttime observations of the vertical distribution of the O(1S) 557.7 nm emission near the geographic equator for March/April, 1993. The airglow volume emission rate distribution is found to be strongly dependent on local time. Beginning at dusk, an intense airglow emission layer descends from a mean altitude of 95 km, reaching 89 km by midnight after which the emission rapidly decays. Shortly after midnight it reappears weakly at a higher altitude and remains at this level as the emission rate gradually increases towards dawn. This strong local time dependence leads us to conclude that the effect is tidally driven. Comparison with the Forbes (1982a,b) model suggest that total density perturbations and changes in the atomic oxygen mixing ratio may the cause of the changes in emission rate distribution between dusk and midnight. The reappearance of the emission after midnight may be caused by downward winds bringing oxygen-rich air from above.