This paper investigates new sources of thermospheric non thermal (hot)
oxygen due to exothermic reactions involving numerous minor (ion and
neutral) and metastable species. Numerical calculations are performed
for low latitude, daytime, winter conditions, with moderately high sol
ar activity and low magnetic activity. Under these conditions we find
that the quenching of metastable species are a significant source of h
ot oxygen, with kinetic energy production rates a factor of ten higher
than those due to previously considered O2+ and NO+ dissociative reco
mbination reactions. Some of the most significant new sources of hot o
xygen are reactions involving quenching of O+(2D), O(1D), N(2D), O+(2P
) and vibrationally excited N2 by atomic oxygen.