Sporadic sodium and E layers observed during the summer 2002 MaCWAVE/MIDAS rocket campaign
On 5 July 2002, a MaCWAVE (<B>M</B>ountain and <B>C</B>onvective <B>W</B>aves <B>A</B>scending <B>VE</B>rtically) payload launched from Andøya Rocket Range, Norway, observed narrow enhanced layers of electron density th...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2006-07-01
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| Series: | Annales Geophysicae |
| Online Access: | https://www.ann-geophys.net/24/1257/2006/angeo-24-1257-2006.pdf |
| Summary: | On 5 July 2002, a MaCWAVE (<B>M</B>ountain and <B>C</B>onvective
<B>W</B>aves <B>A</B>scending <B>VE</B>rtically) payload launched from
Andøya Rocket Range, Norway, observed narrow enhanced layers of electron
density that were nearly coincident with sporadic sodium layers measured by
the Weber sodium lidar at the nearby ALOMAR Observatory. We investigate the
formation mechanism of these layers using the neutral wind and temperature
profiles measured directly by the lidar and the vertical motion deduced from
the sodium mixing ratio. Through comparisons of the lidar data to the
sporadic E in situ data, we find support for the concentration and downward
motion of ions to an altitude where chemical models predict the rapid
conversion of sodium ions to neutral sodium. |
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| ISSN: | 0992-7689 1432-0576 |