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LI Min, ZHU Yajun, LIU Weijun, YUAN Wei, XU Jiyao. Retrieval and Analysis of OH (3-1) Rotational Temperature at Xinglong Station (in Chinese). Chinese Journal of Space Science, 2026, 46(5): 1-10 doi: 10.11728/cjss2026.05.2026-0043
Citation: LI Min, ZHU Yajun, LIU Weijun, YUAN Wei, XU Jiyao. Retrieval and Analysis of OH (3-1) Rotational Temperature at Xinglong Station (in Chinese). Chinese Journal of Space Science, 2026, 46(5): 1-10 doi: 10.11728/cjss2026.05.2026-0043
shu

Retrieval and Analysis of OH (3-1) Rotational Temperature at Xinglong Station

doi: 10.11728/cjss2026.05.2026-0043 cstr: 32142.14.cjss.2026-0043
  • 1.

    State Key Laboratory of Solar Activity and Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190

  • 2.

    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049

  • Received Date: 2026-02-24
  • Rev Recd Date: 2026-06-13
    • Available Online: 2026-06-16
    Abstract
  • Mesopause is a key region that responds to solar activity and wave perturbations originating from the lower atmosphere. Temperature in this region is an essential parameter for understanding the dynamical processes and climate change in the middle and upper atmosphere. Rotational temperature of OH airglow is widely used to monitor long-term temperature variations near the mesopause. To investigate the long-term temperature variability in this region, OH (3-1) airglow spectra obtained by a Ground-Based Infrared Spectrometer (GBIS) at Xinglong Station (40°24'N, 117°35'E), China, from 2017 to 2024 were analyzed. The OH rotational temperature was retrieved using a multispectral global optimization fitting algorithm. The reliability of the retrieved temperatures was verified through comparisons with independent measurements from the TIMED satellite and the co-located SpectroMeter of Atmospheric RadiaTion (SMART), showing overall good agreement. The results indicate that the average of annual OH (3-1) rotational temperature during 2017–2024 was 199.3 K and exhibited pronounced seasonal variability, characterized by higher temperatures in winter and lower temperatures in summer. Lomb-Scargle spectral analysis identified the annual oscillation as the dominant periodic component, with an average amplitude of approximately 11.6 K. Furthermore, the interannual variation of the annual mean temperature showed good agreement with changes in solar activity, while both summer and winter mean temperatures exhibited increasing trends throughout the study period, with winter temperatures increasing more rapidly than summer temperatures. These findings suggest that the temperature variability in the mesopause region above Xinglong is jointly influenced by solar activity and atmospheric dynamical processes. The long-term OH (3-1) rotational temperature observations presented in this study demonstrate the capability of GBIS measurements for monitoring long-term temperature variations in the mesopause region and provide valuable observational evidence for understanding the response of the middle and upper atmosphere to external forcing and dynamical processes.

     

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