edu.ucar.opensky::articles:11899 UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact 2025-12-26T04:02:56.964954 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata - Part 2: Extensions for Imagery and Gridded Data ISO 19115-2:2009(E) https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7sj1m9n Overcooling in the upper thermosphere during the recovery phase of the 2003 October storms 2012-03-10T00:00:00Z publication https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7sj1m9n https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JA016994 Lei, J. author Burns, Alan author Thayer, J. author Wang, Wenbin author Mlynczak, M. author Hunt, L. author Dou, X. author Sutton, E. author UCAR/NCAR - Library publisher Infrared radiative emissions by carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitric oxide (NO) are the major cooling mechanisms of the lower thermosphere. During geomagnetically active periods, the NO density and cooling rate in the auroral regions increase significantly as a result of particle precipitation and Joule heating. Previous studies have shown that the time for NO density to recover to quiet time levels is longer than that of the thermosphere temperature or density recovery. This study explores the implications of these different recovery rates for the post-storm thermosphere. Thermosphere densities retrieved from the CHAMP and GRACE accelerometer measurements and NO cooling rates measured by TIMED/SABER are used to examine their variations during the post-storm period of the October 2003 geomagnetic storms. It was found that thermosphere densities at both CHAMP and GRACE altitudes recovered rapidly and continuously decreased below the quiet time densities during the post-storm period, especially at middle latitudes. Compared with the quiet time values, the maximum depletion in the CHAMP and GRACE densities after the storm is about 23-36%, and the estimated decrease of thermospheric temperature is as large as 70-110 K. Our analysis suggests that the elevated NO cooling rate, resulting from the slower recovery of NO densities in the post-storm period, is a plausible cause for this apparent post-storm overcooling of the thermosphere. UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact PDF Text theme Resource Type 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z publication Copyright 2012 American Geophysical Union. None eng geoscientificInformation