Seasonal variations of O<sub>2</sub> atmospheric and OH(6−2) airglowand temperature at mid-latitudes from SATI observations

Abstract

Abstract. More than 3 years of airglow observations with a Spectral Airglow Temperature Imager (SATI) installed at the Sierra Nevada Observatory (37.06°N, 3.38°W) at 2900m height have been analyzed. Values of the column emission rate and vertically averaged temperature of the O2 atmospheric (0–1) band and of the OH Meinel (6–2) band from 1998 to 2002 have been presented. From these observations a clear seasonal variation of both emission rates and rotational temperatures is inferred at this latitude. It is found that the annual variation of the temperatures is larger than the semi-annual variation, while for the emission rates the amplitudes are comparable. Key words. Atmospheric composition and structure (airglow and aurora; pressure density and temperature; instruments and techniques)