Prediction of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentrations in deep,seasonally stratified lakes based on rates of DIN input and N removal processes

Mean dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations ([DIN]) in deep, seasonally stratified lakes with comparable DIN inputs can differ by up to a factor of 3 depending on hydraulic and morphometric properties and/or different trophic states of the lakes. In such lakes, net N sedimentation rates were estimated with two independent methods (sediment core analysis and input-output mass balances). They were higher in eutrophic lakes (Mean: 5.1; SD: ± 1.6 g m^–2 yr^–1; n = 13) than in oligotrophic lakes (1.6 ± 1.0 g m^–2 yr^–1; n = 3), but independent of [DIN]. Gaseous N loss rates to the atmosphere, as calculated from combined N- and P-mass balances from selected lakes, ranged from 0.9 to 37.4 g m^–2 yr^–1 (n = 10) and were positively correlated with [DIN]. Reduction of NO ₃ ^- to N₂ is assumed to be the main cause for gaseous N losses. A simple one-box mass balance model for [DIN], based on DIN input and rates and kinetics of N removal processes (net sedimentation and gaseous N loss) is proposed, and validated with a data base on [DIN] and DIN input in 19 deep, seasonally stratified lakes of central Europe. The model illustrated that the amount of water loading per unit surface area of a lake (called water discharge height q) is the critical parameter determining mean lake [DIN] relative to mean input [DIN]. Lakes with a q > 50 m yr^–1 have average [DIN] similar to the [DIN] of the inflows regardless of their trophic states, because input and outflow exceed lake-internal N removal processes. A high primary production favors DIN removal in lakes with q < 50 m yr^–1. It is concluded that measures to decrease primary production, e.g. by means of P removal programs, lead to an increase of [DIN] in lakes.     

Electric field effects on ionospheric and thermospheric parameters above the EISCAT station for summer conditions

Numerical calculations of the thermospheric and ionospheric parameters above EISCAT are presented for quiet geomagnetic conditions in summer. The Global Self-consistent Model of the Thermosphere, Ionosphere and Protonosphere (GSM TIP) was used. The numerical results were obtained both with a self-consistent calculation of the electric fields of magnetospheric and dynamo-action origin and with the magnetospheric electric fields only. It was found that the dynamo-electric field has some effect on the ionospheric convection pattern during quiet geomagnetic conditions. It has a marked effect mainly on the zonal neutral wind component above EISCAT (±20m/s at 140 km altitude). We have studied the effects of various field-aligned current (FAC) distributions on thermosphere/ionosphere parameters and we show that a qualitative agreement can be obtained with region-I and -II FAC zones at 75° and 65° geomagnetic latitude, respectively. The maximum FAC intensities have been assumed at 03–21 MLT for both regions with peak values of 2.5 × 10^–7 Am^–2 (region I) and 1.25 × 10^–7 A m^–2 (region II). These results are in agreement with statistical potential distribution and FAC models constructed by use of EISCAT data. The lack of decreased electron density in the night-time sector as observed by the EISCAT radar was found to be due to the spatial distribution of ionospheric convection resulting from electric fields of magnetospheric origin.     

Motion of the Earth’s magnetic poles in the last decade

Based on vector magnetic data from the CHAMP German satellite, average daily spherical harmonic models of the main geomagnetic field to n = m = 10 have been constructed for the period from May 2001 to the end of 2009 at an interval of 4 days. The obtained 16 models, which were averaged over half a year, have been used to calculate the coordinates of the north and south magnetic poles (the points where magnetic field lines are vertical). The changes in these coordinates during these eight and a half years have been traced. Both poles continue moving northward and westward. The north magnetic pole has traveled 400 km during this period. The velocity of its motion has increased up to the year 2003, reaching 62.5 km yr⁻¹, and then started decreasing and reached 45 km yr⁻¹ by the end of 2009. In addition, the direction of motion changed from north-northwestward to northwestward; i.e., the pole started turning slightly towards Canada. The south magnetic pole moved slower by an order of magnitude and has traveled 42 km during this period. The coordinates of the geomagnetic (dipole) poles and the eccentric dipole parameters have also been calculated. The dynamics of these poles has been traced.     

Dynamics of the large-scale ULF electromagnetic wave structures in the ionosphere

The present article displays the results of theoretical investigation of the planetary ultra-low-frequency (ULF) electromagnetic wave structure, generation and propagation dynamics in the dissipative ionosphere. These waves are stipulated by a spatial inhomogeneous geomagnetic field. The waves propagate in different ionospheric layers along the parallels to the east as well as to the west and their frequencies vary in the range of (10–10⁻⁶) s⁻¹ with a wavelength of order 10³ km. The fast disturbances are associated with oscillations of the ionospheric electrons frozen in the geomagnetic field. The large-scale waves are weakly damped. They generate the geomagnetic field adding up to several tens of nanotesla (nT) near the Earth's surface. It is prescribed that the planetary ULF electromagnetic waves preceding their nonlinear interaction with the local shear winds can self-localize in the form of nonlinear long-living solitary vortices, moving along the latitude circles westward as well as eastward with a velocity different from the phase velocity of the corresponding linear waves. The vortex structures transfer the trapped particles of medium, as well as energy and heat. That is why such nonlinear vortex structures can be the structural elements of the ionospheric strong macro-turbulences.     

Fluxes of selected trace metals from the Seine estuary to the eastern English Channel during the period August 1994 to July 1995

Two sampling cruises conducted in the Seine estuary (France) under low-water and flood conditions produced high resolution profiles for dissolved cadmium, lead, copper, zinc and nickel concentrations versus salinity. The distribution of dissolved trace metals differed depending on hydrologic conditions, partly because of the dilution of upstream inputs during flood periods. Daily fluxes of these dissolved trace metals were estimated for the two sampling periods (September 1994 and February 1995) by extrapolating the dilution lines observed in higher salinity waters to salinity=0 and then multiplying the effective freshwater concentrations thus obtained by the corresponding freshwater flow. Several procedures were subsequently applied to deduce each daily flux for the year studied from data for these two periods. A consensus was found among these procedures, allowing the determination of net fluxes of dissolved trace metals with a precision of 20–35%. The net fluxes thus estimated were 4 T yr⁻¹ for Cd, 4 T yr⁻¹ for Pb, 40 T yr⁻¹ for Cu, 130 T yr⁻¹ for Zn and 50 T yr⁻¹ for Ni.     

Drifter observations of the Hebrides slope current and nearby circulation patterns

The mean flow at and around the Hebrides and Shetland Shelf slope is measured with ARGOS tracked drifters. Forty-two drifters drogued at 50 m were deployed in three circles over the Hebrides slope at 56.15°N in two releases, one on 5th December, 1995 and the second on 5–9th May, 1996. The circles span a distance of some 20 km from water depths of 200 m to 1200 m. Drifters are initially advected poleward along-slope by the Hebrides slope current at between 0.05 and 0.70 m s^–1 in a laterally constrained (25–50 km wide) jet-like flow. Drifters released in winter remained in the slope current for over 2000 km whilst summer drifters were lost from the slope current beyond the Wyville-Thomson Ridge, a major topographic feature at 60°N. Dispersion from the slope region into deeper waters occurs at bathymetric irregularities, particularly at the Anton Dohrn Seamount close to which the slope current is found to bifurcate, both in summer and winter, and at the Wyville-Thomson Ridge where drifters move into the Faeroe Shetland Channel. Dispersion onto the continental shelf occurs sporadically along the Hebrides slope. The initial dispersion around the Hebrides slope is remarkably sensitive to initial position, most of the drifters released in shallower water moving onto the shelf, whilst those in 1000 m or more are mostly carried away from the slope into deeper water near the Anton Dohrn Seamount. The dispersion coefficients estimated in directions parallel and normal to the local direction of the 500 m contour, approximately the position of the slope current core, are approximately 8.8 × 10³ m² s^–1 and 0.36 × 10³ m² s^–1, respectively, during winter, and 11.4 × 10³ m² s^–1 and 0.36 x 10³ m² s^–1, respectively, during summer. At the slope there is a minimum in across-slope mean velocity, Reynolds stress, and across-slope eddy correlations. The mean across-slope velocity associated with mass flux is about 4 × 10^–3 m s^–1 shelfward across the shelf break during winter and 2 × 10^–3 m s^–1 during summer. The drifters also sampled local patterns of circulation, and indicate that the source of water for the seasonal Fair Isle and East Shetland currents are the same, and drawn from Atlantic overflows at the Hebrides shelf.     

Magnetic torque and convection in the earth's core

Summary The problem of expressing analytically the magnetic torque, acting on the electrically conducting part of the Earth's mantle, is treated as a function of the system of convection on the surface of the core. The changes of velocities in the system of convection are estimated for decadic changes of the Earth's rotation and for the perturbation of the Earth's rotation in 1897. As regards the decadic changes of the Earth's rotation a change of velocity in the system of convection at the surface of the core of the order of 10^–4 m/s corresponds, and as regards the perturbation of the Earth's rotation in 1897 (10^–3 s/year) a change of velocity of 10^–3 m/s reduced to the whole surface of the core corresponds, and 10^–2 m/s corresponds for the region of the focus of the world geomagnetic anomaly (dimension of this region is 10⁶ m).     

Cosmogenic chlorine-36 production rates in terrestrial rocks

Chlorine-36 is produced in rocks exposed to cosmic rays at the earth surface through thermal neutron activation of ³⁵Cl, spallation of ³⁹K and ⁴⁰Ca, and slow negative moun capture by ⁴⁰Ca. We have measured the ³⁶Cl content of ¹⁴C-dated glacial boulders from the White Mountains in eastern California and in a ¹⁴C-dated basalt flow from Utah. Effective, time-intergrated production parameters were calculated by simultaneous solution of the ³⁶Cl production equations. The production rates due to spallation are 4160 ± 310 and 3050 ± 210 atoms ³⁶Cl yr⁻¹ mol⁻¹³⁹K and ⁴⁰Ca, respectively. The thermal neutron capture rate was calculated to be (3.07 ± 0.24) × 10⁵ neutrons (kg of rock)⁻¹ yr⁻¹. The reported values are normalized to sea level and high geomagnetic latitudes. Production of ³⁶Cl at different altitudes and latitudes can be estimated by appropriate scaling of the sea level rates. Chlorine-36 dating was performed on carbonate ejecta from Meteor Crater, Arizona, and late Pleistocene morainal boulders from the Sierra Nevada, California. Calculated ³⁶Cl ages are in good agreement with previously reported ages obtained using independent methods.     

Upper ionosphere variability over Alma-Ata and Observatorio Del Ebro using the ΔfoF2 data obtained during the winter/spring period of 2003–2004

The foF2 data obtained at Alma-Ata and Observatorio Del Ebro during the winter/spring of 2003–2004 are analyzed to compare and investigate the upper ionosphere variability at the two selected sites. The geomagnetic activity and the middle stratosphere dynamics, involving planetary wave (PW) activity, are analyzed for understanding the physical conditions and processes that can explain the observed ionospheric variability. By applying the same method of wavelet analysis to the data sets and doing a direct comparison of the results, two types of foF2 disturbances were found. The first type is 2–7-day oscillations, which appeared during periods of increased geomagnetic activity. The second type is oscillations arising from PW activity in the lower atmosphere. These consist of (1) 6–11-day oscillations arising from PW activity in lower atmospheric regions developed during the final stratosphere warming and indicating the timing of the transition from the winter to the summer circulation and (2) 9–13-day and 8–10-day oscillations mostly during the quiet level of geomagnetic activity, indicating a likely close relation with those in the geopotential height at the 1 hPa level for westward-propagating waves at 40°N, which strengthened during stratosphere warming events in January 2004. The time delay of the oscillations in the ΔfoF2 with respect to those in the geopotential height is about 10 days and it seems that the assumed ionosphere response can occur under weakened eastward zonal wind or relatively weak westward zonal wind (V<30 m s⁻¹).     

Nature of sediment dispersal off the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea: preliminary sediment budget and implications for margin processes

A sediment budget is constructed for the slope and narrow continental shelf off the Sepik River in order to estimate the relative importance of turbid plumes versus bottom gravity transport through a near-shore submarine canyon in the dispersal of sediment across this collision margin. ²¹⁰Pb geochronology and inventories of Kasten cores are consistent with the northwestward dispersal of sediment from the river mouth via hypopycnal and possible isopycnal plumes. Sediment accumulation rates are 5 cm yr⁻¹ on the upper slope just off of the Sepik mouth, decreasing gradually to 1 cm yr⁻¹ toward the northwest, and decreasing abruptly offshore (<0.2 cm yr⁻¹ at 1200 m water depth). A sediment budget indicates that only about 7–15% of the Sepik River sediment discharge accumulates on the adjacent open shelf and slope. The remainder presumably escapes offshore via gravity flows through a submarine canyon, the head of which extends into the river mouth. The divergent sediment pathways observed off the Sepik River (i.e., surface and subsurface plumes versus sediment gravity flows through a canyon) may be common along high-yield collision margins of the Indo–Pacific archipelago, and perhaps are analogous to most margins during Late Quaternary low sea-level conditions.     

Mesoscalic estimation of nitrogen discharge via drainage systems

A complex approach has been developed for estimating mesoscalic nitrogen discharges via drainage systems using spatial information about land use, drainage areas, nitrogen balances and soil and site characteristics. Determining the total drainage area involves certain difficulties for larger areas, as on the one hand, the available databases are incomplete, and on the other hand the localisation and digitalisation of large subsurface drainage areas is a very time-consuming process. Knowledge of the history and causes of drainage systems in landscapes is required. To solve this problem a method has been developed to calculate the drainage areas for large catchments. In order to obtain a complete data set of subsurface drainage areas, representative areas were selected to enable the proportion of subsurface drainage area to be determined for various soil and site characteristics. These proportions were extrapolated to the entire area and the approach tested in the Mulde River Catchment Area in Germany.The rate of drained arable land is about 25.2% of the total area, which can be broken down into grassland (19.0%) and arable land (27.4%). The results differ for sandy soils with up to 8% drained areas and 57.8% for stagnant soils. This shows that the proportion of drained land is highly dependent on the nature of the soil in the catchment area, which has profound implications for approaches to nitrogen modelling.Average nitrogen discharge for the whole catchment area via drainage water was 33 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in the 1980s and 10 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in the 1990s. The nitrogen discharge varies from one soil type to another: in regions with sandy substrate (11,900 ha) discharge was 34 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in the 1980s (14 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in the 1990s), while in areas with loess lessivé soils (89,200 ha) it was about 26 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in the 1980s (9 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in the 1990s). The reduction can be explained by the complete change in farming strategy since the demise of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR).The approach shown is well suited to future model approaches on a regional scale. By creating and integrating new data sets derived from modern GIS operations the approach reduces the uncertainty of water and nitrogen modelling. This gives us a better understanding of nitrogen discharges into surface and groundwater and temporal discharge dynamics. The discharge data are highly valuable to predict environmental protection measurements for streams, lakes, coastal waters and groundwaters.     

Numerical modelling of the thermospheric and ionospheric effects of magnetospheric processes in the cusp region

The thermospheric and ionospheric effects of the precipitating electron flux and field-aligned-current variations in the cusp have been modelled by the use of a new version of the global numerical model of the Earths upper atmosphere developed for studies of polar phenomena. The responses of the electron concentration, ion, electron and neutral temperature, thermospheric wind velocity and electric-field potential to the variations of the precipitating 0.23-keV electron flux intensity and field-aligned current density in the cusp have been calculated by solving the corresponding continuity, momentum and heat balance equations. Features of the atmospheric gravity wave generation and propagation from the cusp region after the electron precipitation and field-aligned current-density increases have been found for the cases of the motionless and moving cusp region. The magnitudes of the disturbances are noticeably larger in the case of the moving region of the precipitation. The thermospheric disturbances are generated mainly by the thermospheric heating due to the soft electron precipitation and propagate to lower latitudes as large-scale atmospheric gravity waves with the mean horizontal velocity of about 690 ms^–1. They reveal appreciable magnitudes at significant distances from the cusp region. The meridional-wind-velocity disturbance at 65° geomagnetic latitude is of the same order (100 ms^–1) as the background wind due to the solar heating, but is oppositely directed. The ionospheric disturbances have appreciable magnitudes at the geomagnetic latitudes 70°–85°. The electron-concentration and -temperature disturbances are caused mainly by the ionization and heating processes due to the precipitation, whereas the ion-temperature disturbances are influence strongly by Joule heating of the ion gas due to the electric-field disturbances in the cusp. The latter strongly influence the zonal- and meridional-wind disturbances as well via the effects of ion drag in the cusp region. The results obtained are of interest because of the location of the     

New terrestrial heat flow values from Hungary

Summary Temperature and conductivity measurements show, that in the Southern part of Transdanubia (the part of Hungary which lies Westwards from Danube) the heat flow is about 2–2.4·10^–6 cal/cm² sec. Eastward from the Danube, in the Hungarian Plain estimates are even higher, and vary between 2.3·10^–6 and 2.8·10^–6 cgs. The gradient of temperature is everywhere quite high, 5.0 resp. 5.8·10^–4 deg. C/cm on the average. Thus, at a depth of 1000 m, the virgin rock temperature is about 60–70 deg. C, at 2000 m about 110–130 deg. C.     

Riparian alder fens — source or sink for nutrients and dissolved organic carbon? — 2. Major sources and sinks

Natural riparian forest wetlands are known to be effective in their ability to remove nitrate by denitrification and sediments with attached phosphorus via sedimentation. On the other hand, litter input and decomposition is a process of crucial importance in cycling of nitrogen and phosphorus in a forest ecosystem.In this study we investigated the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the alder fen ecosystem through leaf litter and its decomposition and the removal capacity of nitrogen and phosphorus by measuring denitrification and sedimentation in the alder fen.We found an average input of leaf litter during fall 1998 of 226 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ DW with nutrient concentration of 0.17% P and 1.6% N. This means a yearly input of 0.4 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ P and 3.6 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ N. The decomposition of leaf litter using litter bags with small and large mesh size resulted in bags with macroinvertebrates (large mesh size) and without macroinvertebrates (small mesh size). After 57 days the litter bags with macroinvertebrates had a decomposition rate of 79%.Denitrification was measured in May and June of 1997 using the acetylene inhibition technique on intact soil cores and slurry-experiments. The average annual denitrification rate was 0.2 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ N using data from the core experiments. The denitrification rate was higher after addition of nitrate, indicating that denitrification in the riparian alder fen is mainly controlled by nitrate supply.The sedimentation rate in the investigated alder fen ranged from 0.47 kg m⁻² yr⁻¹ DW to 4.46 kg m⁻² yr⁻¹ DW in 1998 depending on the study site and method we used. Sedimentation rates were lower in newly designed plate traps than in cylinder traps. The alder fen also showed lower rates than the adjacent creek Briese. Average phosphorus removal rate was 0.33 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ P.Input sources for the surface water of the alder fen are sediment mineralization and decomposition of leaf litter; output sources are sedimentation and denitrification. This study showed that a nutrient input of 24.58 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ N, 8.8 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ P and 419 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ DOC into the surface water of the alder fen is possible. Alder fens cannot improve water quality of an adjacent river system. This is only true for a nearly pristine alder fen with the hydrology of 10 months flooded conditions and 2 months non-flooding conditions a year.     

Magma supply and storage at Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, 1956–1983

Shallow crustal magma reservoirs beneath the summit of Kilauea Volcano and within its rift zones are linked in such a way that the magma supply to each can be estimated from the rate of ground deformation at the volcano's summit. Our model builds on the well-documented pattern of summit inflation as magma accumulates in a shallow summit reservoir, followed by deflation as magma is discharged to the surface or into the rift zones. Magma supply to the summit reservoir is thus proportional to summit uplift, and supply to the rift zones is proportional to summit subsidence; the average proportionality constant is 0.33 × 10⁶ m³/γrad. This model yields minimum supply estimates because it does not account for magma which escapes detection by moving passively through the summit reservoir or directly into the rift zones.Calculations suggest that magma was supplied to Kilauea during July 1956– April 1983 at a minimum average rate of 7.2 × 10⁶ m3/month. Roughly 35% of the net supply was extruded; the rest remains stored within the volcano's east rift zone (55%) and southwest rift zone (10%). Periods of relatively rapid supply were associated with the large Kapoho eruption in 1960 and the sustained Mauna Ulu eruptions in 1969–1971 and 1972–1974. Bursts of harmonic tremor from the mantle beneath Kilauea were also unusually energetic during 1968–1975, suggesting a close link between Kilauea's deep magma supply region and shallow storage reservoirs. It remains unclear whether pulses in magma supply from depth give rise to corresponding increases in shallow supply, or if instead unloading of a delicately balanced magma transport system during large eruptions or intrusions triggers more rapid ascent from a relatively constant mantle source.     

The global-average production rate ofBe

Precipitation collected in continuously open containers for about a year at seven sites around the United States was analyzed for¹⁰Be,⁹⁰Sr,²¹⁰Pb and²³⁸U. Based on these data and long-term precipitation,⁹⁰Sr and²¹⁰Pb delivery patterns, the stratospheric, tropospheric and recycled¹⁰Be components in the collections were estimated and the global¹⁰Be production rate was assessed. Single station production rate estimates range from 0.52 × 10⁶ atoms cm⁻² yr⁻¹ to 2.64 × 10⁶ atoms cm⁻² yr⁻¹. The mean value is 1.21 × 10⁶ atoms cm⁻² yr⁻¹ with a standard error of 0.26 × 10⁶ atoms cm⁻² yr⁻¹.     

Geomagnetic activity and wind velocity during the Maunder minimum

Following a given classification of geomagnetic activity, we obtained aa index values for the Maunder minimum (1645–1715). It is found that the recurrent and fluctuating activities were not appreciable and that the shock activity levels were very low. The aa index level was due almost entirely to the quiet days. Calculated average solar-wind velocities were 194.3 km s^–1 from 1657 to 1700 and 218.7 km s^–1 from 1700 onwards. Also, the coronal magnetic field magnitude and southward interplanetary magnetic field component Bz were lower. It is concluded that the nearly absent levels of geomagnetic activity during this period were due to lower coronal and Bz magnetic field magnitudes as well as to the continuous impinging on the Earth of a slow wind.     

Measurement of the mobility distribution of tropospheric ions

Summary The analysis is given for an improved aspiration-type mobility chamber which suppresses the growth of boundary layers and turbulence at the electrodes by employing converging-channel geometry. The distribution of small ions in air as a function of their mobility is determined from data taken with the converging-channel chamber. The results show that the distribution of positive ions is quite stable with an average mobility of about 1.35 cm² volt^–1 sec^–1 (at STP). The negative-ion distribution is broader, less stable, and the average mobility shifts from about 2.1 to 1.7 cm² volt^–1 sec^–1 with the addition of water vapor. The effect of Aitken nuclei upon the mobility distribution is also discussed. The results are compared with previous measurements.     

The role of vibrationally excited nitrogen in the formation of the mid-latitude negative ionospheric storms

Millstone Hill ionospheric storm time measurements of the electron density and temperature during the ionospheric storms (15-16 June 1965; 29–30 September 1969 and 17–18 August 1970) are compared with model results. The model of the Earth’s ionosphere and plasmasphere includes interhemispheric coupling, the H⁺, O⁺(⁴S), O⁺(²D), O⁺(²P), NO⁺, O⁺₂ and N⁺₂ ions, electrons, photoelectrons, the electron and ion temperature, vibrationally excited N₂ and the components of thermospheric wind.In order to model the electron temperature at the time of the 16 June 1965 negative storm, the heating rate of the electron gas by photoelectrons in the energy balance equation was multiplied by the factors 5–30 at he altitude above 700 km for the period 4.50-12.00 LT, 16 June 1965. The [O]/[N₂] MSIS-86 decrease and vibrationally excited N₂ effects are enough to account for the electron density depressions at Millstone Hill during the three storms. The factor of 2 (for 27–30 September 1969 magnetic storm) and the & actor 2.7 (for 16–18 August 1970 magnetic storm) reduction in the daytime peak density due to enhanced vibrationally excited N₂ is brought about by the increase in the O⁺+N₂ rate factor.     

Recombination rates of small ions and their attachment to aerosol particles

It could be shown by measurements of the air conductivity and using a mean profile for the ionization rate that experimental and theoretical values of the recombination rate of small ions based on a three body recombination process (Thomson) are in very good agreement up to 20 km altitude. The divergency of the experimental and theoretical curves above 20 km can be interpreted by assuming that there exists in this altitude region a crossover from the three body recombination to a two body recombination process. The value of the recombination coefficient is about 4·10^–7 cm³ s^–1 in 25 km altitude, compared with 1.4·10^–6 cm³ s^–1 at ground level. Furtheron it was possible for the first time to get some experimental data of attachment coefficients up to 13 km from simultaneous measurements of the air conductivity and Aitken nuclei concentration. These values are in good agreement with those obtained by theoretical considerations.