Tuesday, 5 November 2002: 4:20 PM
Parameterization of Non-LTE Source Function with Chemical Production by an Equivalent Two-level Model
The classic two-level or equivalent two-level model that only includes
the statistical equilibrium of radiative and thermal processes of
excitation and quenching between two vibrational energy levels is
extended by adding chemical production to the rate equations. The
modifications to the non-LTE source function and cooling rate are
parameterized by phi_c that characterizes the ratio of chemical
production to collisional quenching. For applications of broadband
emission of O3 at 9.6-micron the non-LTE effect of chemical production
on the cooling rate and limb emission is proportional to the ratio of
O to O3 For a typical [O]/[O3] the maximum enhancements of cooling
rate and limb radiance are about 0.03-0.05 K/day and 15-30%,
respectively, both occurring near the mesopause regions. It is also
shown that the broadband limb radiance above ~80 km is sensitive to O3
density but not to the direct cooling rate along the line-of-sight.
This makes O3 retrieval feasible but the direct cooling rate retrieval
difficult by using the O3 9.6-micron band limb emission.
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