Neutral thermospheric composition and thermal structure

Abstract

Since the reviews by Carignan [1975] and Dickinson [1975], satellite and ground based programs have produced a wealth of new data on the composition and structure of the thermosphere, including the first extensive measurements of a number of minor constituents. These years have also been a period of consolidation and refinement, with data being incorporated in a number of semiempirical models which provide an increasingly accurate picture of thermospheric variations in usable forms. Our review of the published experimental work of the past four years has been organized into a number of overlapping categories which reflect the major activity areas. Empirical modelling is considered first, followed by solar activity variations, daily variations, magnetic storm variations, measurements of molecular oxygen and minor species, and miscellaneous temperature and density determinations.