First global observations of the mesospheric potassium layer

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 41; no. 15; pp. 5653 - 5661
• Main Authors: Dawkins, E. C. M., Plane, J. M. C., Chipperfield, M. P., Feng, W., Gumbel, J., Hedin, J., Höffner, J., Friedman, J. S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington Blackwell Publishing Ltd 16.08.2014; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Ablation; Annual variations; Atmosphere; Atmospheric chemistry; Boards; Chemistry; Dayglow; Density; Density profiles; Displays; Dynamics; Errors; Geophysics; Infrared spectrometers; Iron; Lidar; mesospheric metal; Metals; Onboard; Potassium; potassium layer; Retrieval; Robustness; satellite retrieval; Satellites; Seasonal variability; Seasonal variations; Spectrometers; Tracers; Upper atmosphere; Variability
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1002/2014GL060801

Metal species, produced by meteoric ablation, act as useful tracers of upper atmosphere dynamics and chemistry. Of these meteoric metals, K is an enigma: at extratropical latitudes, limited available lidar data show that the K layer displays a semiannual seasonal variability, rather than the annual pattern seen in other metals such as Na and Fe. Here we present the first near‐global K retrieval, where K atom number density profiles are derived from dayglow measurements made by the Optical Spectrograph and Infrared Imager System spectrometer on board the Odin satellite. This robust retrieval produces density profiles with typical layer peak errors of ±15% and a 2 km vertical grid resolution. We demonstrate that these retrieved profiles compare well with available lidar data and show for the first time that the unusual semiannual behavior is near‐global in extent. This new data set has wider applications for improving understanding of the K chemistry and of related upper atmosphere processes. Key Points First quantitative retrieval of the terrestrial K layer from space The unusual semiannual behavior of K is near global in extent