ACPD Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ACPD 1680-7375 Copernicus GmbH Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/acpd-11-32583-2011 CO<sub>2</sub>(<i>ν</i><sub>2</sub>)-O quenching rate coefficient derived from coincidental SABER/TIMED and Fort Collins lidar observations of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere Feofilov A. G. 1 Kutepov A. A. 2 3 She C.-Y. 4 Smith A. K. 5 Pesnell W. D. 3 Goldberg R. A. 3 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/École Polytechnique, UMR8539, Palaiseau-Cedex, 91128, France The Catholic University of America, Washington DC, 20064, USA NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, 80307, CO, USA 09 12 2011 11 12 32583 32600 This is an open-access article ditributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. This article is available from http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/11/32583/2011/acpd-11-32583-2011.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/11/32583/2011/acpd-11-32583-2011.pdf

Among the processes governing the energy balance in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT), the quenching of CO<sub>2</sub>(<i>ν</i><sub>2</sub>)-O vibrational levels by collisions with O atoms plays an important role. However, there is a factor of 3–4 discrepancy between various measurements of the CO<sub>2</sub>-O quenching rate coefficient, <i>k</i><sub>VT</sub>. We retrieve <i>k</i><sub>VT</sub> in the altitude region 80–110 km from coincident SABER/TIMED and Fort Collins sodium lidar observations by minimizing the difference between measured and simulated broadband limb 15 μm radiances. The retrieved <i>k</i><sub>VT</sub> varies from about 5 &times; 10<sup>&minus;12</sup> cm<sup>3</sup> s<sup>−1</sup> at 87 km to about 7 &times; 10<sup>&minus;12</sup> cm<sup>3</sup> s<sup>−1</sup> at 104 km. A detailed consideration of retrieval errors and uncertainties indicates deficiency in current understanding the non-LTE formation mechanism of atmospheric 15 μm radiances. An updated mechanism of CO<sub>2</sub>-O collisional interactions is suggested.

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