Night airglow O 2 (0-1) atmospheric band emission during the northern polar winter

The O ₂(0-1) atmospheric band night airglow has been observed from the ground near Longyearbyen (78°N) during the 1983/84 winter solstice period. The 2 1/2 months of observations show no minimum in the emission around winter solstice, but rather large variations with enhancements lasting for days. An average atomic oxygen concentration at the 95 km level of 1.5 × 10 ¹¹ cm ^-1 is deduced form the average emission intensity of 405 R. The absence of a clear minimum in the oxygen concentration during the northern polar winter solstice period, as compared to the southern polar region, is believed to reflect differences in the circulation and transport in the upper mesosphere and lower thermosphere.