The molecular oxygen density structure of the lower thermosphere as seen by GOLD and models

While molecular oxygen (O-2) is the third most abundant constituent in the thermosphere, molecular and atomic oxygen densities are difficult to quantify accurately. Consequently, modeled densities have significant uncertainties.

New stellar occultation measurements from the Global-scale Observations of Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission provide data that can quantify, with high precision, the O-2 density and its daily and local time variations. These observations are compared to the Mass Spectrometer Incoherent Scatter radar family of empirical models and the physics based Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere-ionosphere eXtension.