Other
Scientific paper
Apr 1992
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1992georl..19..669s&link_type=abstract
Geophysical Research Letters (ISSN 0094-8276), vol. 19, April 3, 1992, p. 669-672.
Other
19
Atmospheric Temperature, Satellite Atmospheres, Thermosphere, Tritons, Ultraviolet Spectrometers, Heat Sinks, Heat Sources, Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium, Magnetospheric Ion Density, Voyager 2 Spacecraft
Scientific paper
The analysis of the Voyager 2 Ultraviolet Spectrometer solar occultation data obtained at Triton is consistent with a spherically symmetric, isothermal thermosphere above 400 km at T(infinity) = 96 K. A detailed calculation of energy loss processes in a pure N2 atmosphere indicates that solar heating, with calculated T(infinity) = 70 K, is insufficient to account for the inferred T(infinity) = 96 K. The magnetosphere must deposit twice as much power as the sun to heat the thermosphere to 96 K and generate the observed N2 tangential column densities above 450 km. The thermal escape of H and N atoms and the downward diffusion of N atoms to recombine below 130 km results in local ionospheric heating efficiency of 24 percent. An upper limit on the tropopause CO mixing ratio of 2 x 10 exp -4 is inferred in the absence of aerosol heating to balance its efficient cooling by LTE rotational line emission.
Stevens Michael Hugh
Strobel Darrell F.
Summers Michael E.
Yelle Roger V.
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