The physical mechanism of nitric oxide formation in simulated lightning

Navarro‐González, Rafael; Villagrán-Munı́z, M.; Sobral, H.; Molina, Luisa T.; Molina, Mario J.

doi:10.1029/2001gl013170

Cited by 41 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…In particular, the experimental data at 0% H 2 indicate that the formation of NO increases from ~1.9 × 10 15 molecules/J at CO 2 /(CO 2 + N 2 ) = 0.98 to ~1.3 × 10 16 molecules/J at CO 2 /(CO 2 + N 2 ) from 0.8 to 0.5 and then drastically drops to ~4.9 × 10 13 molecules/J at CO 2 /(CO 2 + N 2 ) = 0.01. The expected T F for NO in shock‐heated air (N 2 /O 2 ) is 2300 K (Navarro‐González, Villagrán‐Muniz, et al, ). The predicted trend using this value is in good agreement with experiments at CO 2 /(CO 2 + N 2 ) ≥ 0.5.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abiotic Input of Fixed Nitrogen by Bolide Impacts to Gale Crater During the Hesperian: Insights From the Mars Science Laboratory

et al. 2019

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Molecular hydrogen (H2) from volcanic emissions is suggested to warm the Martian surface when carbon dioxide (CO2) levels dropped from the Noachian (4100 to 3700 Myr) to the Hesperian (3700 to 3000 Myr). Its presence is expected to shift the conversion of molecular nitrogen (N2) into different forms of fixed nitrogen (N). Here we present experimental data and theoretical calculations that investigate the efficiency of nitrogen fixation by bolide impacts in CO2‐N2 atmospheres with or without H2. Surprisingly, nitric oxide (NO) was produced more efficiently in 20% H2 in spite of being a reducing agent and not likely to increase the rate of nitrogen oxidation. Nevertheless, its presence led to a faster cooling of the shock wave raising the freeze‐out temperature of NO resulting in an enhanced yield. We estimate that the nitrogen fixation rate by bolide impacts varied from 7 × 10−4 to 2 × 10−3 g N·Myr−1·cm−2 and could imply fluvial concentration to explain the nitrogen (1.4 ± 0.7 g N·Myr−1·cm−2) detected as nitrite (NO2−) and nitrate (NO3−) by Curiosity at Yellowknife Bay. One possible explanation is that the nitrogen detected in the lacustrine sediments at Gale was deposited entirely on the crater's surface and was subsequently dissolved and transported by superficial and ground waters to the lake during favorable wet climatic conditions. The nitrogen content sharply decreases in younger sediments of the Murray formation suggesting a decline of H2 in the atmosphere and the rise of oxidizing conditions causing a shortage in the supply to putative microbial life.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abiotic Input of Fixed Nitrogen by Bolide Impacts to Gale Crater During the Hesperian: Insights From the Mars Science Laboratory

et al. 2019

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“…The NO yield from cold discharge (temperature < 3000 K) in association with lightning or on cloud droplets is lower compared to hot channel lightning which was already postulated by Donohoe et al (1977). In the hot flash channel the NO yield maximizes at 4000 K (Bhetanabhotla et al, 1985;Martinez and Brandvold, 1996;Navarro-González et al, 2001). As shown by many theoretical and experimental studies, hot lightning strokes are a significant global source of NO x with a production rate of 15 (2-40) × 10 25 NO molecules per flash , and references therein).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Influence of corona discharge on the ozone budget in the tropical free troposphere: a case study of deep convection during GABRIEL

et al. 2014

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Abstract. Convective redistribution of ozone and its precursors between the boundary layer (BL) and the free troposphere (FT) influences photochemistry, in particular in the middle and upper troposphere (UT). We present a case study of convective transport during the GABRIEL campaign over the tropical rain forest in Suriname in October 2005. During one measurement flight the inflow and outflow regions of a cumulonimbus cloud (Cb) have been characterized. We identified a distinct layer between 9 and 11 km altitude with enhanced mixing ratios of CO, O 3 , HO x , acetone and acetonitrile. The elevated O 3 contradicts the expectation that convective transport brings low-ozone air from the boundary layer to the outflow region. Entrainment of ozone-rich air is estimated to account for 62 % (range: 33-91 %) of the observed O 3 . Ozone is enhanced by only 5-6 % by photochemical production in the outflow due to enhanced NO from lightning, based on model calculations using observations including the first reported HO x measurements over the tropical rainforest. The "excess" ozone in the outflow is most probably due to direct production by corona discharge associated with lightning. We deduce a production rate of 5.12 × 10 28 molecules O 3 flash −1 (range: 9.89 × 10 26 -9.82 × 10 28 molecules O 3 flash −1 ), which is at the upper limit of the range reported previously.

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“…The return stroke phase of a lightning flash was simulated in the laboratory by a hot plasma generated with a pulsed Nd‐YAG laser. This lightning simulation has been shown to be a good analog of natural lightning without introducing contamination from the electrodes [ Borucki et al , 1988] on the basis of its temperature and electron density [ Jebens et al , 1992], hydrodynamic evolution [ Sobral et al , 2000; Navarro‐González et al , 2001b], spectral properties [ Borucki et al , 1985], and its nitric oxide production yield [ Navarro‐González et al , 2001a; Navarro‐González et al , 2001b]. Furthermore, the energy dissipated per unit length in this laboratory simulated discharge was estimated to be ∼10 4 J m −1 [ Navarro‐González et al , 2001a], in close agreement with that from natural lightning [ Stark et al , 1996].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental simulation of a double return‐stroke lightning flash by lasers

Sobral

Villagrán-Munı́z

Navarro‐González

et al. 2002

Geophysical Research Letters

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[1] A lightning flash is composed of various energetic discharges called return-strokes which are believed to be responsible for the natural formation NO X in the atmosphere. We report the first experimental attempt in the simulation of such a process. The temporal evolution of electric breakdown in air at atmospheric pressure of two synchronized Nd:YAG nanosecond laser pulses was studied to understand the physical behavior of a double return-stroke lightning flash by shadowgraphy and interferometry techniques. The temperature of the second return-stroke reaches about 20,000 K after 1 ms of laser ignition of the second pulse and cools off more rapidly than the first discharge. The cooling rate of the heated gas is about a factor of two faster for the second simulated return-stroke. The estimated production of nitric oxide of two synchronized laser induced plasmas seems to be not substantially modified as compared with the sum of the isolated single pulses.

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The physical mechanism of nitric oxide formation in simulated lightning

Cited by 41 publications

References 20 publications

Abiotic Input of Fixed Nitrogen by Bolide Impacts to Gale Crater During the Hesperian: Insights From the Mars Science Laboratory

Abiotic Input of Fixed Nitrogen by Bolide Impacts to Gale Crater During the Hesperian: Insights From the Mars Science Laboratory

Influence of corona discharge on the ozone budget in the tropical free troposphere: a case study of deep convection during GABRIEL

Experimental simulation of a double return‐stroke lightning flash by lasers

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