Odd Nitrogen in the Thermosphere and Mesosphere

磁暴期间高能电子和质子对80公里高度以上大气的影响，使高纬度高层大气中的氮气和氧分子分解，产生大量的一氧化氮。其中一些是在冬季极涡中通过中间大气向下输送的，并影响到高纬度臭氧的化学。一氧化氮的产生涉及到人们还不太了解的化学反应，事实上，最近的实验室测量表明，观测结果与模型之间的差异超过了十分之一。该奖项旨在利用卫星数据生成NO浓度及其在时间和空间上的变化的综合经验模型，以待新的实验室测量结果可用于修订理论模型。那时，可以进一步尝试比较观察结果(通过经验模型)和理论。

The impact upon the atmosphere above 80 km altitude of energetic electrons and protons during magnetic storms breaks up nitrogen and oxygen molecules and produces large quantities of nitric oxide in the high latitude upper atmosphere. Some of this is transported downwards through the middle atmosphere in the wintertime polar vortex, and affects the chemistry of ozone at high latitudes. The production of the nitric oxide involves chemical reactions that are not well understood, in fact recent laboratory measurements have shown disagreements between observations and models by more than a factor of ten. This award is to use satellite data to generate a comprehensive empirical model of the concentration of NO and its variation in time and space, pending new laboratory measurements that can be used to revise the theoretical model. At that time a further attempt can be made to compare observations (via the empirical model) and theory.