Atmospheric non-local thermodynamic equilibrium emissions as observed by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS)

Abstract

In this article we report the most recent advances of our knowledge of non-LTE atmospheric emissions gained from the MIPAS spectra on the Envisat satellite. These include improvements in our knowledge: of the collisional processes between the CO 2 (10 01), (02 21), and (02 01) vibrational levels; of the nascent distribution and collisional relaxation of the O 3 vibrational states; and of the vibrational–vibrational energy transfer rates between H 2O(020) and O 2. In addition we report: the first evidence of mesospheric CH 4 ν 4 7.6-μm emission; much lower non-LTE populations of the NO 2 ( v 3 = 1 – 4 ) in the daytime stratosphere than previously thought; the first experimental confirmation of the non-LTE excitation of NO(1) in the daytime stratosphere; and the first detection of the CO first hot band non-LTE emission near 4.7 μm. To cite this article: M. López-Puertas et al., C. R. Physique 6 (2005).