Initial observations with the Global Ultraviolet Imager (GUVI) in the NASA TIMED satellite mission

doi:doi:10.1029/2003JA009918

Abstract

Cited By (55)

Abstract

Initial observations with the Global Ultraviolet Imager (GUVI) in the NASA TIMED satellite mission

A. B. Christensen

Space Science Applications Laboratory, Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, California, USA

L. J. Paxton

Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland, USA

S. Avery

University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA

J. Craven

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA

G. Crowley

Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA

D. C. Humm

Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland, USA

H. Kil

Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland, USA

R. R. Meier

E.O. Hulburt Center for Space Research, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington D.C., USA

C.-I. Meng

Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland, USA

D. Morrison

Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland, USA

B. S. Ogorzalek

Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland, USA

P. Straus

Space Science Applications Laboratory, Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, California, USA

D. J. Strickland

Computational Physics, Inc, Springfield, Virginia, USA

R. M. Swenson

Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA

R. L. Walterscheid

Space Science Applications Laboratory, Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, California, USA

B. Wolven

Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland, USA

Y. Zhang

Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland, USA

The Global Ultraviolet Imager (GUVI) instrument carried aboard the NASA TIMED satellite measures the spectral radiance of the Earth's far ultraviolet airglow in the spectral region from 120 to 180 nm using a cross-track scanning spectrometer design. Continuous operation of the instrument provides images of the Earth's disk and limb in five selectable spectral bands. Also, spectra at fixed scanning mirror position can be obtained. Initial results demonstrate the quantitative functionality of the instrument for studies of the Earth's dayglow, aurora, and ionosphere. Moreover, through forward modeling, the abundance of the major constituents of the thermosphere, O, N₂, and O₂ and thermospheric temperatures can be retrieved from observations of the limb radiance. Variations of the column O/N₂ ratio can be deduced from sunlit disk observations. In regions of auroral precipitation not only can the aurora regions be geographically located and the auroral boundaries identified, but also the energy flux Q, the characteristic energy E_o, and a parameter f_o that scales the abundance of neutral atomic oxygen can be derived. Radiance due to radiative recombination in the ionospheric F region is evident from both dayside and nightside observations of the Earth's limb and disk, respectively. Regions of depleted F-region electron density are evident in the tropical Appleton anomaly regions, associated with so-called ionospheric “bubbles.” Access to the GUVI data is provided through the GUVI website www.timed.jhuapl.edu\guvi.

Received 1 March 2003; accepted 3 October 2003; published 23 December 2003.

Citation: Christensen, A. B., et al. (2003), Initial observations with the Global Ultraviolet Imager (GUVI) in the NASA TIMED satellite mission, J. Geophys. Res., 108(A12), 1451, doi:10.1029/2003JA009918.

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