Journal ArticleDOI
Production and loss of electrons in the quiet daytime D region of the ionosphere
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In this paper, the authors show that the presence of a steep ledge in electron density at an altitude that lies between 80 and 90 km, in the vicinity of the mesopause, cannot be related to a change in the primary production rate of electrons.Abstract:
Rocket probe measurements of the concentration of free electrons in the undisturbed daytime D region typically show the presence of a steep ledge in electron density at an altitude that lies between 80 and 90 km, in the vicinity of the mesopause. This paper is chiefly concerned with the interpretation of this feature. It is shown that the ledge cannot be related to a change in the primary production rate of electrons, and calculations based on existing knowledge of negative-ion reactions indicate that its presence is not likely to be related to negative-ion formation. We conclude that the ledge probably owes its existence to a sharp change in electron-positive-ion recombination coefficient, coinciding in altitude with the sharp change in nature of the dominant positive-ion species from molecular ions above the ledge to water vapor cluster ions below. The small electron densities below the ledge can be readily explained if the complex cluster ions have recombination coefficients of the order of 50 times larger than those of simple molecular ions at mesospheric temperatures. Such large recombination coefficients may be related to a new mode of recombination available to complex cluster ions, but not to the relatively simple molecular or atomic ions.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Electron concentrations in the E and upper D region at Arecibo
TL;DR: In this paper, electron concentrations in the D and E regions of the ionosphere were measured by incoherent scatter radar from 130-km altitude down to the D region ledge with an altitude resolution of 900 m. The results are displayed as consecutive 5-min altitude profiles including sunrise, afternoon, and sunset periods.
Journal ArticleDOI
Scattering of radio waves from the mesosphere—I. Theory and observations
P.K. Rastogi,S.A. Bowhill +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors considered scattering of radio waves at VHF and UHF frequencies from thermal and non-thermal fluctuations in the mesosphere and developed a model for scattering from nonthermal fluctuation induced by interaction of turbulence with the existing electron-density gradients.
Journal ArticleDOI
Positive ion chemistry of the D and E regions.
TL;DR: A comparison of ion-molecule reaction rates implied by E- and F-region chemistry and measured in the laboratory shows on the whole good agreement except that the ionospheric analysis demands stronger temperature dependences as mentioned in this paper.
Journal ArticleDOI
Diurnal, seasonal and solar-cycle variations of electron densities in the ionospheric D- and E-regions
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors derived mean electron density profiles for the height region between 65 and 110 km in dependence on solar zenith angle, solar activity and season from radio wave propagation data in the frequency range between about 10 and 2500 kHz.
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An Investigation of the Ionospheric D Region at Sunrise: 3, Time Variations of Negative‐Ion and Electron Densities
R. P. Turco,C. F. Sechrist +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the growth over sunrise of the C and D layers of the ionosphere is investigated for a model which includes: the negative ion species O−, O2− and O3−.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Mass spectrometric measurements of positive ions at altitudes from 64 to 112 kilometers
R. S. Narcisi,A. D. Bailey +1 more
TL;DR: A quadrupole mass spectrometer system employing a liquid nitrogen chilled zeolite pump has recently been developed for sampling positive ions at altitudes above 50 km as discussed by the authors, where the predominant ions detected within the D region (64 to 82 km) were 19+, 30+, and (37±1)+, with 32+ rapidly rising above 75 km approaching the abundance of 30+ at 83 km.
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Survey of Negative‐Ion—Molecule Reactions in O2, CO2, H2O, CO, and Mixtures of These Gases at High Pressures
J. L. Moruzzi,A. V. Phelps +1 more
TL;DR: The negative ion species produced in O2 and some gases containing oxygen have been surveyed for various pressure and E/p conditions using an rf mass spectrometer coupled to an electron drift tube operating at pressures up to 5 torr.
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Laboratory measurements of negative ion reactions of atmospheric interest
TL;DR: In this article, the rate constants for the loss processes of negative oxygen ions in the D -region of the ionosphere have been measured in the laboratory for the first time, and it was shown that the ozone to atomic oxygen ratio exceeds unity.
Journal ArticleDOI
Origin of water cluster ions in the D region
TL;DR: In this paper, the formation of the observed water cluster ions H3O+, H5O2+, H7O3+, etc. in the D region of the earth's ionosphere has been studied.
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Altitude profile of the infrared atmospheric system of oxygen in the dayglow
TL;DR: The altitude profile of the infrared atmospheric system of oxygen at 1.27 μ in the dayglow has been measured using a two-channel filter photometer flown to an altitude of 128 km over White Sands, New Mexico, at a solar elevation of 14.5° in October 1966 as mentioned in this paper.
Related Papers (5)
Mass spectrometric measurements of positive ions at altitudes from 64 to 112 kilometers
R. S. Narcisi,A. D. Bailey +1 more