Jiao, J, Yang, G, Wang, J et al. (2 more authors) (2017) Observations of dramatic enhancements to the mesopheric K layer. Geophysical Research Letters, 44 (24). pp. 12536-12542. ISSN 0094-8276
Abstract
Highly concentrated layers of atomic K have been observed in the mesosphere above Yanqing near Beijing (40°N, 116°E). The K density in these narrow layers exceeds 1,100 cm−3 (at least 4 times higher than reported elsewhere), and the K/Na ratio is superchondritic by a factor of 3–4. A model with detailed metal ion chemistry, supported by ancillary measurements from a nearby ionosonde and meteor radar, is used to show that these sporadic K layers can be produced from a strong sporadic E layer (critical frequency > 11 MHz) that descends from above 100 km at a velocity of 1–2 km h−1. This allows most of the Na+ ions to be neutralized before the remaining ions are dumped around 90 km, where the higher pressures and colder temperatures facilitate the formation of K+.N2 and K+.CO2 cluster ions. These cluster ions then undergo dissociative recombination with electrons to form K.
Metadata
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017, American Geophysical Union. | ||||
Keywords: | K layer; Na layer; Sporadic E layer; Ion-molecule chemistry; Cosmic dust | ||||
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Institution: | The University of Leeds | ||||
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > National Centre for Atmos Science (NCAS) (Leeds) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemistry (Leeds) > Physical Chemistry (Leeds) |
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Funding Information: |
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Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications | ||||
Date Deposited: | 12 Dec 2017 10:52 | ||||
Last Modified: | 13 Jun 2018 00:39 | ||||
Status: | Published | ||||
Publisher: | American Geophysical Union | ||||
Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL075857 |