SMILES observations of mesospheric ozone during the solar eclipse. Issue 9 (7th May 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Imai, Koji; Imamura, Takashi; Takahashi, Kenshi; Akiyoshi, Hideharu; Yamashita, Yousuke; Suzuki, Makoto; Ebisawa, Ken; Shiotani, Masato
• Is Part Of: Geophysical research letters. Volume 42:Issue 9(2015:May)
• Page Start: 3576
• Page End: 3582
• Publication Date: 2015-05-07
• Subjects: Geophysics -- Periodicals; Planets -- Periodicals; Lunar geology -- Periodicals; 550
• DOI: 10.1002/2015GL063323
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0094-8276

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>The Superconducting Submillimeter‐Wave Limb‐Emission Sounder (SMILES) successfully observed vertical distributions of ozone (O₃) concentration in the middle atmosphere during the annular solar eclipse that occurred on 15 January 2010. In the mesosphere, where the photochemical lifetime of O₃ is relatively short (approximately 100 s), altitude‐dependent changes in O₃ concentration under reduced solar radiation and their temporal variations were clearly observed as a function of the eclipse obscuration. This study reports the vertical distributions of mesospheric O₃ during a solar eclipse event and analyzes theoretically the eclipse‐induced changes. We show that simple analytical expressions for O₃ concentration, which assume that O₃ and O are in a photochemically steady state, can be used to describe the O₃ concentration under reduced solar radiation. The SMILES data obtained during the eclipse provide a unique opportunity to test our current understanding of mesospheric O₃ photochemistry.</p> </abstract>