O.sub.2 1.27[mu]m emission maps as derived from OMEGA/MEx data

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2009.07.022 Byline: F. Altieri (a), L. Zasova (b), E. D'Aversa (a), G. Bellucci (a), F.G. Carrozzo (a), B. Gondet (c), J.-P. Bibring (c) Keywords: Mars; Atmosphere; Atmosphere; Composition; Spectroscopy Abstract: We present a method to derive the 2D maps of the O.sub.2 (a.sup.1 [DELTA].sub.g) airglow emission at 1.27[mu]m from the OMEGA/MEx nadir observations. The OMEGA imaging capabilities allow monitoring the 2D distribution, daily and seasonal variation of the O.sub.2 emission intensities with a detection limit of 4 MR. The highest values, of the order of [approximately equal to]31 MR, are found on the south pole for 11h Atmospheric waves crossing the terminator on the southern polar regions are observed for the first time during the MY28 early spring. The spatial scale of the waves ranges from 100 to 130km, and the intensity fluctuations are of the order of 4MR. This study confirms the high potentiality of O.sub.2 (a.sup.1 [DELTA].sub.g) day glow as a passive tracer of the martian atmosphere dynamics at high latitudes. Author Affiliation: (a) IFSI - INAF, Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, Italy (b) Space Research Institute, 84/32 Profsoyuznaya Str., 117997 Moscow, Russia (c) Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, BAcentst. 121, Universite Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France Article History: Received 22 July 2008; Revised 18 June 2009; Accepted 6 July 2009