An investigation of the solar cycle impact on the lower thermosphere O(1S) nightglow emission as observed by WINDII/UARS Original Research Article

The yearly variation of the integrated emission rate of the O(1S) nightglow in the lower thermosphere is studied and the solar cycle impact is examined from the observations of the Wind Imaging Interferometer (WINDII) operated on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). More than 300,000 volume emission rate profiles of the O(1S) nightglow observed by WINDII for 40°S–40°N latitudes during November 1991–August 1997 over half of a solar cycle are utilized. These profiles are vertically integrated for the altitude range of 80–100 km and the equivalent column integrated emission rates are then zonally averaged for bins with 10° latitude and 3 month intervals. It is found that for each latitude the O(1S) nightglow emission rate appears to increase with increasing solar F10.7 cm flux, following a linear relationship. This characterizes the solar cycle impact on the O(1S) nightglow, while the solar influence is modulated by a seasonal variation. Based on these variations, an empirical formula is derived for predicting the three-month averages of the O(1S) nightglow integrated emission rate. The standard error of the estimated values from the formula is smaller than 30 Rayleigh.