Abstract
THE existence of a layer of atomic sodium in the upper atmosphere near 90 km has been clearly demonstrated by analyses of daytime and twilight airglow emissions of D-line radiation at 5,890 and 5,896 Å (refs 1 and 2) as well as by direct laser backscatter measurements (see, for example ref. 3). Following Chapman4 chemical reactions involving atomic sodium and atmospheric oxygen species have been invoked to explain the chemical dynamics of the sodium layer and the nightglow emission of D-line radiation. In addition, Chapman has also proposed that similar reactions involving newly ablated sodium are responsible for the occurrence of long enduring visible meteor trails5. Unfortunately, previous quantitative attempts to model sodium-induced upper atmospheric chemiluminescence have suffered from rather poor estimates of the appropriate reaction rate constants. Here we provide more reasonable estimates of rate constants and show how these new kinetics parameters can dramatically alter calculations of chemiluminescent efficiency.
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KOLB, C., ELGIN, J. Gas phase chemical kinetics of sodium in the upper atmosphere. Nature 263, 488–490 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/263488a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/263488a0
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