Abstract
The mesopause is the minimum in the vertical temperature structure of the earth’s atmosphere occurring near 85–90 Km, ranging in value from roughly 140K to 220K from summer to winter polar latitudes (see Figure 1). The altitude region about the mesopause, roughly between 70 and 120 Kin, may well be termed a ‘transition’ or ‘boundary’ region in many respects. Basically, fundamental mechanisms relating to heat deposition, conductive and radiative transfer, wave propagation, etc., applicable in their respective upper or lower altitude regimes, often require special consideration across this region. Most numerical models of the lower atmosphere or the thermosphere do not comprehensively address these difficulties, and consequently do not place confidence in results obtained between 80 and 120 Km. Furthermore, the mesopause region exceeds the altitude limits of most meterological rockets and is too low for in-situ satellite measurements, so that it is the most scantily observed region of the atmosphere as well.
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Forbes, J.M. (1983). Physics of the Mesopause Region. In: Carovillano, R.L., Forbes, J.M. (eds) Solar-Terrestrial Physics. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 104. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7194-3_24
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7194-3_24
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