Modeled O2 nightglow distributions in the Venusian atmosphere

In this paper, we study the global distribution of the O2Infrared Atmospheric (0‐0) emission at 1.27μm in the Venusian atmosphere with an airglow model in combination with atmospheric conditions provided by a three‐dimensional model, the Venus Thermospheric Global Circulation Model. We compare our model simulations with airglow observations of this emission from the Visible and InfraRed Thermal Imaging Spectrometer on board the Venus Express orbiter. Our model is successful in reproducing the latitudinal and temporal trends seen in the observations for latitudes between 0° and 30°, while poleward of 30°, the model results start to diverge away from the measurements. We attribute this discrepancy to the atomic oxygen distribution at these latitudes in our model that is inconsistent with the recent measurements. We also conducted a sensitivity study to explore the dependence of the vertical structure and the distribution of the airglow emission on the atmospheric conditions. The sensitivity study confirms that changes in the distribution of atomic oxygen significantly affect the characteristics of the airglow layer. Therefore, meaningful comparisons with observations require a three‐dimensional model, which accounts for dynamical variations in the background atmosphere. With this investigation, we highlight the impact of the atmospheric conditions on the airglow distribution, which is important for the understanding of how the phenomenon plays. Key Points First model simulations of O2 airglow on Venus using a 3D GCM The model results compare well with the VIRTIS measurements at low latitudes Impact of atmospheric conditions on airglow structure is considerable