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High resolution D ‐region measurements at Arecibo
Author(s) -
Ioannidis G.,
Farley D. T.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
radio science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1944-799X
pISSN - 0048-6604
DOI - 10.1029/rs009i002p00151
Subject(s) - ion , atomic physics , resolution (logic) , range (aeronautics) , physics , recombination , altitude (triangle) , incoherent scatter , computational physics , electron , ionosphere , materials science , chemistry , nuclear physics , mathematics , geophysics , geometry , composite material , gene , biochemistry , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , computer science
D ‐region electron densities have been measured with a height resolution of less than 1 km using the incoherent scatter technique with coded pulses. Using a theoretical production model and the measured densities, recombination coefficients were computed for the altitude range from 80 to 95 km. The effective recombination coefficient decreases across the D ‐region ledge from a value of about 2 × 10 −5 cm 3 sec −1 below the ledge to a value of the order of 1 to 5 × 10 −7 above. The change is presumably due to a transition from water cluster ions to the molecular ions NO + and O 2 + .