Mid‐winter intensities of the night airglow O2 (0–1) atmospheric band emission at high latitudes

Abstract

Absolute intensities of the O2 (0–1) atmospheric band night airglow emission have been observed from near Longyearbyen on West Spitsbergen (78.4°N latitude, 15°E longitude, geographic) during a 2‐month period around winter solstice (1982–1983). Intensities ranging from 110 R to 1590 R with a mean of 570 R ± 60 R are observed. There is no clear maximum or minimum around solstice. A semidiurnal tide component giving rise to a 25–30% intensity variation of the O2 (0–1) atmospheric emission is present in the data. The maximum and minimum are found to occur at about 0400 and 1000 local time, respectively. No diurnal tide component larger than ±3–4% is present in the data. The day‐to‐day and short time variations both show a quasi‐regular wave pattern which may be associated with gravity waves.