From the observations of atomic oxygen concentrations during the Energy Budget Campaign 1980, heating rates in the lower thermosphere at high latitude for late fall are derived and are found to be rather high. Useful information is also inferred for the vertical transport of mass and heat at these heights. The eddy diffusion coefficient which is derived from the data decreases with decreasing altitude below 100 km and reaches a minimum value of the order of 10 m2 s-1 near the mesopause. Such low value implies a low minimum concentration of nitric oxide (105--106 cm-3) near 80 km.