Variability of the ICON-MIGHTI Green and Red Line Volume Emission Rates

The Michelson Interferometer for Global High-resolution Thermospheric Imaging (MIGHTI) onboard NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) uses observations of both the atomic oxygen green line (557.7 nm) and red line (630.0 nm) airglow emissions to measure wind velocities in the upper mesosphere/thermosphere between 90 and 300 km. Although not absolutely calibrated, the green and red volume emission rate (VER) observed by MIGHTI provided high-precision information on spatial and temporal variations. Since it is a limb viewing instrument, MIGHTI resolves the altitudinal structure of these emissions while ground-based instruments integrate along the vertical dimension. From MIGHTI's vantage point the morphology and variability of the green and red lines are explored in both annual variations as well as shorter time frames where the VER values are much brighter than their annual means. Connections are made between these anomalies and the simultaneously measured wind structures.