Evidence for the lowering of the centroid of daytime thermospheric O(1D) 630.0 nm emission over the magnetic equator: First results Original Research Article

It is shown in this paper for the first time that the intensity of the daytime thermospheric O(1D) 630.0 nm airglow as measured by the ground-based dayglow photometer over Trivandrum (8.5°N; 77°E; dip lat. 0.5°N), a geomagnetic dip equatorial station, exhibit a direct correlation with the electron density at 180 km. This altitude is about ∼40 km lower than the believed centroid of the O(1D) 630.0 nm dayglow emission i.e. 220 km. This observation is contrary to the understanding of the behavior of O(1D) 630.0 nm dayglow over equatorial/low latitudes. Over these latitudes, the variations of the measured intensity of O(1D) 630.0 nm dayglow are known to be associated with the changes in the electron density at altitudes around 220 km, the centroid of this emission. In this context, the present results indicating the lowering of the peak altitude of O(1D) 630.0 nm emission from ∼220 to ∼180 km over the dip equator is new. Recent results on solar XUV flux indicate that this could be an important parameter that controls the O(1D) 630.0 nm dayglow excitation rates through modulations in the neutral and ionic composition in lower thermosphere-ionosphere region. However, the lowering of the centroid of O(1D) 630.0 nm emission, as shown in this study, has been ascribed primarily to the fountain effect associated with the equatorial ionization anomaly.