Determination of high-altitude atomic oxygen density and temperature by a Raman LIDAR

It is shown that a Raman LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) has the potential of determining the densities of each of the three fine structure levels of the ground state of atomic oxygen. Since it was established earlier that the fine structure levels are in local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) up to at least 350 km altitude, the Raman LIDAR therefore also has the potential of determining the up to that altitude. Since a LIDAR can be gated as well as pointed in different directions, it has the potential of giving three dimensional maps of the density of atomic oxygen and temperature.