An Exospheric Temperature Model Using a Polyhedral Grid

A high-resolution model of exospheric temperatures has been developed, with the objective of predicting the global values of exospheric temperatures with greater accuracy. From these temperatures, the neutral densities in the thermosphere can be calculated. This model is derived from measurements of the neutral densities on the CHAMP, GRACE, and Swarm satellites. These data were sorted into 1620, triangular cells on a spherical, polyhedral grid, using coordinates of geographic latitude and local solar time (longitude). A least-error fit of the data is used to obtain a separate set of regression coefficients for each grid cell. Several versions of model functions have been tested, using parameters such as the day-of-year, Universal Time, solar indices, and emissions from nitric oxide in the thermosphere, as measured with the SABER instrument on the TIMED satellite. Accuracy is improved with the addition of parameters that use the total Poynting flux flowing into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. This ...