The seasonal effect of nitric oxide cooling on the thermospheric U.V. heat budget

The effects of (1) the radiative cooling of vibrationally-excited NO at 5.3 microns and (2) radiation entrapment at 63 microns on the UV heating efficiency 'epsilon' are examined. It is noted that the previously used heating efficiency definition contradicts its logical application, and that the two processes mentioned should be included as cooling phenomena in the energy equations. Comparisons are made with previous work by including O and NO radiative cooling in the calculation of epsilon, which is found to vary from 45 to 60%, depending on how the two radiative cooling mechanisms are included in the calculation. It is also found that the shape of the heating efficiency altitude profile varies with season, while the peak value is nearly invariant.