The Intensity of the Twilight and Upper Atmospheric Dust

Volz, Frederic E.; Goody, R. M.

doi:10.1175/1520-0469(1962)019<0385:tiotta>2.0.co;2

Cited by 107 publications

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“…With it we made a thorough study of the purple light region of the evening sky, and we were able to interpret the data in terms of the vertical distribution of dust in the mesosphere (26). Mesospheric dust is now an important topic, but it was not in the 1960s.…”

Section: Observing the Atmospherementioning

confidence: 99%

Observing and Thinking about the Atmosphere

Goody

2002

Annu. Rev. Energy. Environ.

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[Figure: see text] ▪ Abstract FAUST: Ich fühl's, vergebens hab' ich alle Schätze Des Menschengeists auf mich herbeigerafft, Und wenn ich mich am Ende niedersetze, Quilt innerlich doch keine neue Kraft; Ich bin nicht um ein Haar breit höher, Bin dem Unendlichen nicht näher. Goethe's Faust, Part I, lines 1810–15. 1 A dedication to research in the physical sciences together with the circumstances of World War II, led me into theoretical and observational studies of the global physical climate. For all practical purposes, I was on my own when working in Cambridge and London, England, and I went whereever my interests led me. I organized three atmospheric observatories (two in England). I have also worked at many astronomical observatories. As time progressed, I became increasingly involved in studies of atmospheric radiation as a controlling factor for the Earth's climate. I am often taken to be a specialist in atmospheric radiation, but I have never regarded it as more than an important element in climate studies. But radiative transfer and global questions did not become important for climate science until later, and in the 1950s and 1960s I found myself drawn to studies of planetary atmospheres as an arena in which my skills were of central importance. Mars and Venus were the focus of my work for many years, and I was partly responsible for launching the Pioneer Venus mission, which placed probes into the Venus atmosphere in 1978. Much later, the experience I gained in space instrumentation and in the structure of atmospheres led me back to climate science, where I started. Then my interest was in observing the climate and testing the credibility of climate predictions. I still maintain some activity in this field. Outside these research activities, I created a Center for Earth and Planetary Physics at Harvard University to take over the activities of the Blue Hill Observatory, when that Observatory ceased to be a viable facility. The purpose of the Center was to teach earth science in the context of the discipline of physical science. The Center had some notable achievements but eventually had to give way to requirements for environmental sciences in the University, a change that I regret. During my active life in the United States, I invested a great deal of effort in support of the work of the National Research Council (NRC), including many years spent on report review. I am increasingly troubled by the postmodern view of science that appears to dominate these activities. But that may be no more than a biased rosy view of the past with its exciting early experiences and hopes.

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Section: Observing the Atmospherementioning

confidence: 99%

Observing and Thinking about the Atmosphere

Goody

2002

Annu. Rev. Energy. Environ.

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“…The early twilight observations of Volz and Goody (1962) indicated a more or less uniform mixing ratio (defined as grams of aerosol per gram or air) at about 25~ of its 15-kin value for altitudes above 30 km. In addition, the data provide some evidence of a weak secondary maximum near the stratopause at 50 kin.…”

Section: Aerosol Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nucleation processes and aerosol chemistry

Castleman

1974

Space Sci Rev

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As the result of many observable optical phenomena, the occasional existence of upper atmospheric aerosols has been known since the beginning of the Century. Nevertheless, it is only during the last two decades that their persistent nature and extent of global distribution have become recognized. This review is addressed to the chemistry of upper atmospheric aerosols with particular attention to the chemical reactions and nucleation mechanisms responsible for their formation.Considering the stratosphere, it is now generally agreed that sulfate, mainly in the form of sulfuric acid, represents the single most abundant constituent of stratospheric aerosols. There is now strong evidence that these aerosols are formed in situ from sulfur bearing gases oxidized by free radicals. The various nucleation processes of atmospheric importance are reviewed, and it is shown that heteromolecular nucleation processes are almost certainly responsible for new particle formation in the stratosphere.The nature, and even existence, of aerosol layers above the stratosphere is less certain. The influx of extraterrestrial materials into the Earth atmosphere is estimated to be in the order of 50 to 500 tons per day. Considerations are given to the possible mechanisms which convert these materials to aerosol size particles. Although these particles provide one possible explanation for the appeareance of noctilucent clouds, nucleation about ions, most probably HaO + hydrates, is a strong contender as a more plausible formation mechanism. Considerable attention is given to this important atmospheric process, where it is shown that chemical forces contribute to the stability of the prenucleation clusters and the overall height of the energy barrier to nucleation. Finally, the role of aerosols in the sodium and other cycles of trace upper atmospheric constituents, is discussed.

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“…Bigg (1956), from measurements of the twilight, and Zacharov (1952), from determination of the transparency of the atmosphere, claim to have identified an increase in the dust content of the atmosphere associated with the Perseid shower; however, the precise twilight photometry of Volz and Goody (1962) shows only a broad maximum of stratospheric turbidity in the winter months. Similarly, measurements of the radiance of the zenith sky at 28 km from May through September 1962 (before the Bali volcanic eruption) by Newkirk and Bohlin (unpublished) fail to show any clear influence of the Perseid shower.…”

Section: Temporal Variations Of Meteoric Influxmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meteor orbits and dust; the proceedings of a symposium

Hawkins¹

1967

Smithsonian Contributions to Astrophysics

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The Proceedings of the Symposium on Meteor Orbit* and Dust is published simultaneously as a NASA Special Publication (SP-135) and as Volume 11 of the Smithsonian Contributions to Astrophysics. This single publication thus serves in a dual capacity to satisfy the requirements of both agencies for the published record of this international meeting.The NASA Special Publications series, begun in 1962, makes available information derived from or of value to NASA activities, and includes such publications as conference proceedings, monographs, data compilations, handbooks, Bourcebooks, and special bibliographies.The IntroductionWe recently completed a general analysis of the atmospheric trajectories of 413 precisely reduced Super-Schmidt photographic meteors (Jacchia, Verniani, and Briggs, 1965). We studied the dependence of heights, lengths, decelerations, and magnitudes on such basic parameters as velocity, angle of incidence, and mass, as well as on derived parameters such as the ablation coefficient and the fragmentation index; the latter were in turn related to the other geometrical and physical characteristics, including the phenomena of wake and terminal blending. The results of the analysis are mainly concerned with physical characteristics of meteors; in this paper we shall limit ourselves to only a few points related to problems of orbits and distribution, namely, physical differences dependent on the type of orbit, peculiarities of individual showers, and the mass scale for photographic meteors.Systematic differences between groups of meteors Systematic differences in some physical characteristics between meteors in short-period and long-period orbits were first pointed out by Jacchia (1958Jacchia ( , 1963. He found that the beginning heights of meteors with aphelion distances greater than 7 a.u. were higher than the corresponding heights of meteors with aphelion distances smaller than 7 a.u. All meteors were, of course, reduced to the same brightness.• Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Harvard College Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts.'Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Harvard College Observatory; on leave from Centra Nationals per la Fisica dell'Atmosfera c la Meteorologia del C.N.R., Rome, Italy. * Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, Massachusetts.The present general analysis has confirmed the effect found by Jacchia: meteors with aphelion distance smaller than 6 a.u. appear 1.8 km lower than meteors in long-period orbits, reduced to the same velocity, mass, and zenith angle. The maximum light and end heights are correspondingly lower ( fig. 1). This effect is related to the different densities that we find for the two groups: on the average, meteors in short-period orbits appear to be about 1.4 times as dense as meteors in long-period orbits. In addition, for short-period meteors, the density increases as the aphelion distance decreases ( fig. 2). These systematic differences in density could be ascribed to the different conditions in which the meteoroids were formed ...

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The Intensity of the Twilight and Upper Atmospheric Dust

Cited by 107 publications

References 0 publications

Observing and Thinking about the Atmosphere

Observing and Thinking about the Atmosphere

Nucleation processes and aerosol chemistry

Meteor orbits and dust; the proceedings of a symposium

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