Use of ionic mobilities for measurements in the lower ionosphere

The most notable contributions to our understanding of the D and E regions of the ionosphere made during the period from 1967 to 1971 have come through the following developments: the determination of the ionic composition of the ionosphere through the use of mass spectrometers flown on sounding rockets; the measurement of electron density profiles under a wide range of conditions, at various latitudes, hours, and seasons, during eclipses and winter anomalies with probes in combination with radio receivers for propagation measurements flown on sounding rockets; the measurement of the concentration of several important minor species in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, such as NO, O2(a1 Δg), and Na; the explosive outburst of laboratory measurements of rate constants for reactions between electrons, ions, and molecules of atmospheric interest. These developments have been accompanied by some significant successes and some significant failures in theoretical studies attempting to reconcile the measurements.

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Sheaths and their influence on charged particle measurements in the lower ionosphere

Szuszczewicz¹

1974

J. Geophys. Res.

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A quantitative measure is established for the possible effects of pay load potentials and sheath sizes on the integrity of in situ measurements of charged particles in the lower ionosphere. The results show that floating potentials are moderate, varying from −4.3kTe/e to −8.6kTe/e over the parametric ranges 0.1 ≤ λia/R ≤ 100 and 0.01 ≤ R/λD ≤ 100 (where λia is the ion‐atom mean free path, R is the conductor radius, λD is the Debye length, and Te is the electron temperature). In addition, it is shown that the sheaths associated with a floating pay load (nominally 20 cm thick for a 20‐cm‐diameter pay load at an altitude of 90 km) as well as the appended instrumentation with applied electric potentials can alter the ambient medium and weaken the integrity of the experimental results. Insight into the possibilities of perturbation by measurement is developed through the sheath calculations, the details showing that sheath dimensions can be many times the ambient Debye length. The sheath results and associated lower ionospheric collision conditions are found to have parametric ranges that can be identified with analogous conditions nominally attained in laboratory drift tube experiments. Subsequent comparisons between the laboratory and ionospheric parameters not only establish the possibility of field‐induced reactions in lower ionospheric studies but help to set guidelines within which the integrity of the associated charged particle measurement techniques can be maintained.

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Use of ionic mobilities for measurements in the lower ionosphere

Cited by 4 publications

References 15 publications

Relations between general and atmospheric physics, particularly concerning atmospheric ions

Relations between general and atmospheric physics, particularly concerning atmospheric ions

Ionosphere, D and E regions

Sheaths and their influence on charged particle measurements in the lower ionosphere

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