Auroral zone effects on hydrogen geocorona structure and variability

The instantaneous structure of planetary exospheres is determined by the time history of energy dissipation, chemical, and transport processes operative during a prior time interval set by intrinsic atmospheric time scales. The complex combination of diurnal and magnetospheric activity modulations imposed on the Earth's upper atmosphere no doubt produce an equally complex response, especially in hydrogen, which escapes continuously at exospheric temperatures. Vidal-Madjar and Thomas (1978) have discussed some of the persistent large scale structure which is evident in satellite ultraviolet observations of hydrogen, noting in particular a depletion at high latitudes which is further discussed by Thomas and Vidal-Madjar (1978). The latter authors discussed various causes of the H density depletion, including local neutral temperature enhancements and enhanced escape rates due to polar wind H⁺ plasma flow or high latitude ion heating followed by charge exchange. We have reexamined the enhancement of neutral escape by plasma effects including the recently observed phenomenon of low altitude transverse ion acceleration. We find that, while significant fluxes of neutral H should be produced by this phenomenon in the auroral zone, this process is probably insufficient to account for the observed polar depletion. Instead, the recent exospheric temperature measurements from the Dynamics Explorer-2 spacecraft suggest that neutral heating in and near the high latitude cusp may be the major contributor to depleted atomic hydrogen densities at high latitudes.     

Diffusive equilibrium distributions of He+ in the plasmasphere

Recent satellite observations of thermal ion composition in the near-equatorial plasmasphere have shown that He⁺ comprises 5–10% typically and occasionally 25% or more of the total thermal ion density. A steady state diffusive equilibrium model for the distributions of H⁺, He⁺ and O⁺ along a plasmaspheric flux tube is used to elicit effects that may help explain these observed high He⁺ fractional concentrations. The model indicates that both the ionospheric composition and the temperature distribution along the flux tubes are important factors controlling the equatorial He⁺ composition, through the plasma scale height and thermal diffusion effects. Direct comparison of the model results with thermal ion observations by ISEE-1 indicates that the effects incorporated into the model may explain some of the elevated He⁺ concentrations. In some instances, however, effects not included in the model may also be of importance.     

Superoxide-mediated reduction of organically complexed iron(III): Impact of pH and competing cations (Ca)

The mechanism and kinetics of superoxide-mediated reduction of a variety of organic iron(III) complexes has been investigated over the pH range 7-9. Our experimental results show that the rate of iron(II) formation is a function of pH, ligand type and ligand concentration with the measured rate varying between 0.44 ± 0.07 and 39.25 ± 1.77 pM s⁻¹ in the systems investigated. Additionally, our results show that the presence of competing cations such as Ca²⁺ have a significant impact on iron(II) formation if the organic ligand is strongly complexed by Ca²⁺. Formation of iron(II) occurs by either (or, in some instances, both) reaction of superoxide with inorganic iron(III) after its dissociation from the complex (dissociative reduction) or by direct reaction of superoxide with the complex (non-dissociative reduction). In the presence of weak ligands, dissociative reduction (DR) dominates; however non-dissociative reduction (NDR) becomes important in the presence of either strongly binding ligands or high concentrations of weakly binding ligands. The major factors contributing to the pH dependence of the iron(II) formation rate are the complexation kinetics of inorganic iron(III) (which controls the DR contribution) and the reduction kinetics of the iron(III) complex (which controls the NDR contribution). The relative NDR contribution increases with increasing superoxide and ligand concentration and decreasing pH for all ligands examined. Since iron(II) formation occurring via NDR results in a significantly larger increase in the proportion of iron in free aquated form than does DR, this non-dissociative pathway of superoxide-mediated iron(III) reduction is particularly effective in increasing the lability of iron in aquatic systems.     

Spectro-imaging observations of Jupiter's 2-μm auroral emission. I. H3 distribution and temperature

We report on spectro-imaging infrared observations of Jupiter's auroral zones, acquired in October 1999 and October 2000 with the FTS/BEAR instrument at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. The use of narrow-band filters at 2.09 and 2.12 μm, combined with high spectral resolution (0.2 cm⁻¹), allowed us to map emission from the H₂S₁(1) quadrupole line and from several H₃⁺ lines. The H₂ and H₃⁺ emission appears to be morphologically different, especially in the north, where the latter notably exhibits a “hot spot” near 150°-170° System III longitude. This hot spot coincides in position with the region of increased and variable hydrocarbon, FUV and X-ray emission, but is not seen in the more uniform H₂S₁(1) emission. We also present the first images of the H₂ emission in the southern polar region. The spectra include a total of 14 H₃⁺ lines, including two hot lines from the 3ν₂-ν₂ band, detected on Jupiter for the first time. They can be used to determine H₃⁺ column densities, rotational (T_rot) and vibrational (T_vib) temperatures. We find the mean T_vib of the v₂=3 state to be lower (960±50 K) than the mean T_rot in v₂=2 (1170±75 K), indicating an underpopulation of the v₂=3 level with respect to local thermodynamical equilibrium. Rotational temperatures and associated column densities are generally higher and lower, respectively, than inferred previously from ν₂ observations. This is a likely consequence of a large positive temperature gradient in the sub-microbar auroral atmosphere. While the signal-to-noise is not sufficient to take full advantage of the 2-D capabilities of the observations, the search for correlations between line intensities, T_vib and column densities, indicates that variations in line intensities are mostly due to correlated variations in the H₃⁺ column densities. The thermostatic role played by H₃⁺ at ionospheric levels may provide an explanation. The exception is the northern “hot spot,” which exhibits a T_vib about 250 K higher than other regions. A partial explanation might invoke a homopause elevation in this region, but a fully consistent scenario is not yet available. The different distributions of the H₂ and H₃⁺ emission are equally difficult to explain.     

Vibrational and rotational cooling of electrons by molecular hydrogen

The cooling of electrons by vibrational and rotational excitation of molecular hydrogen plays an important role in the thermal balance of electrons in atmospheres containing significant amounts of H₂. Calculations of vibrational and rotational cooling rates of electrons by H₂ are described. Results are presented for a wide range of electron and neutral temperatures. Analytical formulae for some of the cooling rates are also provided.     

Diel variations in iron speciation in northern Australian shelf waters

Iron in northern Australian shelf waters was found predominantly in fine (< 0.2 μm) 8-hydroxyquinoline-reactive form or in larger (1.0 μm) particulate form. Partitioning into the larger size fraction dominated during a period of high turbidity following a cyclonic resuspension event. Only a small component of the iron pool reacts rapidly with the strong ferrous binding agent ferrozine. The concentration of the ferrozine-reactive component is strongly dependent on light intensity with maximum concentration observed at peak light intensity. The close correlation between ferrozine-reactive iron concentration and light intensity suggests a fine balance between Fe(III) reduction and Fe(II) oxidation with the steady state concentration observed being strongly influenced by light induced changes in redox kinetics. An observed lack of association between particulate iron concentrations and the concentration of ferrozine-reactive iron suggests that the soluble rather than the particulate iron pool is most influenced by light. The chromophore may be an Fe(III)-organic complex with the strong iron binding ligand that is now recognised to be present in seawater.     

Flocculation and phytoplankton cell size can alter Th-based estimates of the vertical flux of particulate organic carbon in the sea

The deficit of ²³⁴Th relative to its radioactive parent ²³⁸U in the surface ocean can yield reliable estimates of vertical Particulate Organic Carbon (POC) fluxes to deeper waters, but only when coupled with an accurate ratio of POC concentration to activity of ²³⁴Th on sinking matter. Assuming a simple partitioning of suspended phytoplankton mass between single cells and flocs, we calculate the ratio of the POC flux estimated from ²³⁴Th deficit to the actual POC flux (p ratio, Smith, J.N., Moran, S.B., Speicher, E.A., in press. The p-ratio: a new diagnostic for evaluating the accuracy of upper ocean particulate organic carbon export fluxes estimated from ²³⁴Th/²³⁸U disequilibrium. Deep-Sea Research I.). The p ratios are calculated under the assumption that particle surface area is correlated with ²³⁴Th activity and particle volume is correlated with POC concentration. The value of the p ratio depends on the relative contributions of single cells and flocs to the vertical flux. When large single cells make up a significant fraction of the vertical flux, p ratios are less than one, meaning POC fluxes estimated from ²³⁴Th deficits underestimate actual POC fluxes. When large single cells are abundant but do not sink fast enough to contribute to vertical POC flux, p ratios are greater than one (up to 3 × overestimate). Factor analysis of the model indicates that altering the extent of flocculation in suspension and changing the density and maximum size of phytoplankton cells have the greatest effects on the p ratio. Failure to measure the properties of flocs when characterizing the ratio of POC to thorium on sinking matter potentially leads to large overestimation of the POC flux (over 20 ×). Failure to characterize the POC to thorium ratio of large particles, by, for example, destruction of phytoplankton cells in pumps, can lead to underestimation of POC flux. Estimates of POC flux should be most reliable in highly flocculated suspensions populated by small cells and rapidly sinking flocs. These conditions are often associated with intense phytoplankton blooms.     

Analysis of Titan's neutral upper atmosphere from Cassini Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer measurements

In this paper we present an in-depth study of the distributions of various neutral species in Titan's upper atmosphere, between 950 and 1500 km for abundant species (N₂, CH₄, H₂) and between 950 and 1200 km for other minor species. Our analysis is based on a large sample of Cassini/INMS (Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer) measurements in the CSN (Closed Source Neutral) mode, obtained during 15 close flybys of Titan. To untangle the overlapping cracking patterns, we adopt Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) to determine simultaneously the densities of different species. Except for N₂, CH₄, H₂ and ⁴⁰Ar (as well as their isotopes), all species present density enhancements measured during the outbound legs. This can be interpreted as a result of wall effects, which could be either adsorption/desorption of these molecules or heterogeneous surface chemistry of the associated radicals on the chamber walls. In this paper, we provide both direct inbound measurements assuming ram pressure enhancement only and abundances corrected for wall adsorption/desorption based on a simple model to reproduce the observed time behavior. Among all minor species of photochemical interest, we have firm detections of C₂H₂, C₂H₄, C₂H₆, CH₃C₂H, C₄H₂, C₆H₆, CH₃CN, HC₃N, C₂N₂ and NH₃ in Titan's upper atmosphere. Upper limits are given for other minor species.The globally averaged distributions of N₂, CH₄ and H₂ are each modeled with the diffusion approximation. The N₂ profile suggests an average thermospheric temperature of 151 K. The CH₄ and H₂ profiles constrain their fluxes to be and , referred to Titan's surface. Both fluxes are significantly higher than the Jeans escape values. The INMS data also suggest horizontal/diurnal variations of temperature and neutral gas distribution in Titan's thermosphere. The equatorial region, the ramside, as well as the nightside hemisphere of Titan appear to be warmer and present some evidence for the depletion of light species such as CH₄. Meridional variations of some heavy species are also observed, with a trend of depletion toward the north pole. Though some of the above variations might be interpreted by either the solar-driven models or auroral-driven models, a physical scenario that reconciles all the observed horizontal/diurnal variations in a consistent way is still missing. With a careful evaluation of the effect of restricted sampling, some of the features shown in the INMS data are more likely to be observational biases.