Analysis of Vibrationally Excited Hydroxyl Emissions as Measured by SCIAMACHY and Implications on OH Non-LTE Modeling
Stoeckle, Martin; Kaufmann, Martin; Zhu, Yajun; Blank, Joerg; Riese, Martin
Research Centre Juelich, IEK-7, GERMANY

Observation of airglow emitted from vibrationally excited hydroxyl can be used to infer several quantities relevant in the context of solar variability and climate change. To measure airglow from ground- or satellite based instruments is a common technique. However, to derive atmospheric trace gases such as atomic oxygen or hydrogen from these emissions requires the knowledge of the ambient temperature as well as a thorough understanding of the excitation and of the energy flow within the hydroxyl molecule, which is very difficult to measure in a laboratory. High resolution measurements by means of the Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric CHartographY (SCIAMACHY) on ESA's Environmental Satellite (Envisat) give an excellent and unique opportunity to quantify these processes and improve non-local thermodynamic equilibrium modelling of this molecule.