Simultaneous measurements of the O2(¹Δ) and O2(¹Σ) Airglows and ozone in the daytime mesosphere

We report simultaneous measurements of the O2(¹Δ) and O2(¹Σ) airglow volume emission rate profiles in the daytime mesosphere. We use these measurements to derive ozone concentrations separately from each airglow. The measurements were made as part of the Mesosphere‐Thermosphere Emissions for Ozone Remote Sensing (METEORS) sounding rocket project launched from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. These data offer the opportunity to assess the consistency of ozone profiles derived from measurements of the oxygen airglows and thus provide a fundamental test of our understanding of dayglow physics and solar energy deposition. In both airglow‐derived profiles the ozone decreases with altitude throughout the middle mesosphere and a pronounced secondary maximum exists near 90 km. The derived ozone profiles are in agreement to within measurement uncertainty. This agreement confirms that the major processes responsible for the generation of mesospheric oxygen dayglow are well understood via measurement.

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