The Atmosphere and Ionosphere

The layers of the atmosphere (order, characteristics).

Troposphere –This is the lowest atmospheric layer and is about 11 km thick. Most clouds and
weather are found in the troposphere. The troposphere is thinner at the poles (averaging about
8km thick) and thicker at the equator (averaging about 16km thick). The temperature decreases
with altitude. ( water vapor, convection due to contact with surface expansion of air)

Stratosphere- The stratosphere is found from about 11-48 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
In this region of the atmosphere is the ozone layer, which absorbs most of the harmful ultraviolet
radiation from the Sun. The temperature increases slightly with altitude in the stratosphere. The
highest temperature in this region is about 32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius. ( ozone
layer)

Mesosphere - The mesosphere is above the stratosphere. Here the atmosphere is very rarefied,
that is, thin, and the temperature is decreasing with altitude, about –130 Fahrenheit (-90 Celsius)
at the top. ( radiative cooling)

Thermosphere - The thermosphere starts at about 55 kilometers. The temperature is quite hot;
here temperature is not measured using a thermometer, but by looking at the motion and speed of
the rarefied gases in this region, which are very energetic but would not affect a thermometer.
Temperatures in this region may be as high as thousands of degrees. ( X-ray, particle energy
input heats this layer)

Exosphere- The exosphere is the region beyond the thermosphere.

Ionosphere: The ionosphere overlaps the other atmospheric layers, from above the Earth. The
air is ionized by the Sun’s ultraviolet light. These ionized layers affect the transmittance and
reflectance of radio waves. Different ionosphere layers are the D, E, and F regions. ( region with
appreciable ionized component- balance of production and loss.

Ionospheric layers (order, approximate height, day/night presence, main sources of

ionization(in terms of atmospheric gases)).

Ionospheric layers :

Region D – the lowest ionospheric layer. Altitude 60-90 km. Main sources of ionization are
solar uv photons ionizing nitric oxide molecules. The D region is only present during the days.
The level of ionization in the D region is the lowest of the different regions of the ionosphere
The D region is important with regard to High frequency( HF ) radio communication because it
absorbs radio waves. During SID( sudden ionospheric disturbances) D region ionization can
become so intense that HF radio communication is completely blacked out.
Region E – The next layer is the Region E. Altitude 90- 140 km. It is formed by both low energy
x rays and UV solar radiation of molecular oxygen. The peak density in the E region is over a
100 times greater than the D region. The E region decays away at night.
Sporadic E - Sources such as meteors entering the upper atmosphere or auroral electrical
fields cause short lived regions of high density ionization at e region altitudes known collectively
as Sporadic E, it can last from a few minutes to several hours.

F region- the densest region of the ionosphere. 120 km – 300 km. The F region is formed by
extreme UV solar radiation ionizing atomic oxygen. F layer ionization decreases at night, but
not as much as the E and D layer ionization. Atomic ions have much lower recombination rates
in general than molecular ions. So reconmination rates are higher in D and E region.
The F layer divides into two layers during the day because of the enhanced photoionization at
high altitudes.
The F2 Peak is more dense than the F 1 peak.
The D and F1 regions disappear at night. The E and F2 regions become much weak.
The main ionization mechanism is photoionization therefore the highest densities in the
ionosphere are on the sunlit side of the Earth.
• The ionosphere does not go away at night – the recombination time (time for an electron and
ion to come back together) is comparable to the rotation period of the Earth.

Ionization production/loss methods

The density of charged particles is determined through the dynamic balance of the continuous
ionization production rate and the loss rate.

Ionization production:
 Photoionization
 Charge Exchange
 Particle precipitation.
Ionization Loss
 Dissociative recombination
 Radiative recombination ( dissociative recombination is more efficient than radiative
recombination)
 Charge exchange

Qualitatively how the density changes in a hydrostatic atmosphere.

The density decreases as a function of height. So with increasing altitude above the earths
surface, the amount of gas gets lower.

Chapman layer formation.

The Chapman profile of an ionospheric layer results from the superposition of the height
dependence of the particle density and the flux of the ionizing electromagnetic radiation

Forming a chapman layer

The number of photons is largest at the top of the ionosphere and decreases with decreasing
altitude.
• The number of neutrals is largest at the bottom of the atmosphere and decreases with increasing
altitude.
• Combining the two profiles gives the profile of a Chapman Layer. The E and F1 regions are
essentially Chapman layers

Ionosphere Magnetosphere coupling.

Ionosphere current:
Region 1 Current: on the pole ward side of the polar oval , connecting to the magnetopause
current.
Region 2 Current: on the equator ward side of the polar oval, connecting to the plasma sheet
current.

Aurora formation
Aurorae are caused by the incidence of energetic particles onto upper atompsphere. Particles
move in along the magnetic field lines connective from the polar cusp region to the plasma
sheet.

Radio/Satellite communication (fcritical , f < fcritical, f > fcritical)

Radio waves are electromangeritc energy with long wavelengths and low frequencies. As the
propagate through an ionized medium, they become refracted or bent.

At a specific frequency- called the critical frequency- the wave will be perfectly reflected. (
fcritical)

At frequencies less than f critical, the ionosphere will reflect a signal back to the ground ( or if a
signal is coming from space, back out into space)

At frequencies above the f critical, the radio wave can propagate through the ionosphere. It wont
be completely reflected.
Technology and Space Weather

Different Satellite orbits (approx. height)

Satellites are used for a wide range of Earth-observing (such as weather) and communication
(data, voice, television, and radio) purposes.
There are four main important classes of orbits for Earth-orbiting satellites.
The altitude above Earth that a satellite reaches defines the four main classes.
These are low-Earth orbit (LEO 100-1,500km), medium-Earth orbit (MEO 5000-10,000km),
high-Earth orbit (HEO Highly elliptical orbit), and geosynchronous orbit (GEO 36,000 km).

LEO orbit satellites are the easiest and least expensive orbit to get into. But the biggest
disadvantage is that due to the lower altitude, there is more atmospheric drag due to the friction
between the moving satellite and the tenuous atmosphere.

space weather phenomena and atmospheric drag on satellites

 A satellite would orbit forever if gravity was the only force acting on it.
• Collisions with the air cause them to slow down and drop to lower altitudes.
• During magnetic storms the atmosphere gets heated and the density increases.
• The increased drag can cause satellites to return to Earth.
• Even if they aren’t lost their orbits are changed and they may not be able to perform their
functions.
Drag acts opposite to the direction of motion and tends to slow an object.

radiation effect on satellites

• Surface charging- Surface charging is caused by the interaction between a spacecraft and the
low-energy electron environment of space.
A satellite placed in space will be impacted by both positively charged and negatively charged
particles. If the net transfer of positive or negative charge is not equal, net charging can take
place.

• Deep dielectric charging- Deep dielectric charging and discharging is one of the most
common and catastrophic issues regarding spacecraft electronics and radiation.
Relativistic electrons in the Van Allen belts have enough energy to penetrate the spacecraft and
deposit their charge on the insulating material (or dielectric material) of the circuit boards that
make up the electronic “brains” of the satellite. Electric charge can build up to such a level that
the dielectric material breaks down and charge can flow through these new pathways on the
circuit board causing electrical shorts.

• Single event upsets- Single event upsets (SEUs) are due to penetrating ions that can “trigger”
an electronic circuit
This can cause a switch or a computer memory bit to “flip”, which could turn on or off or
otherwise give an unintended signal to the spacecraft.
SEU occur when a high-energy particle penetrates s/c shielding and hit a device causing a
disruption.
• UV degradation- Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation is much more intense in space than on the
surface of Earth
UV also can degrade certain materials, particularly plastics and other organic materials. UV light
also contributes to solar cell degradation.
In combination with energetic particle impacts (the main driver of solar cell degradation), UV
light can make the solar panels less efficient

Faraday’s law of induction- is a basic law of electromagnetism predicting how a

magnetic field will interact with an electric circuit to produce an electromotive force
(EMF)—a phenomenon called electromagnetic induction

Kepler’s law of planetary motion- 1. The Law of Orbits: All planets move in elliptical orbits, with
the sun at one focus.
2. The Law of Areas: A line that connects a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal
times.
3. The Law of Periods: The square of the period of any planet is proportional to the cube of the
semi major axis of its orbit.
Kepler's laws were derived for orbits around the sun, but they apply to satellite orbits as well

Center of mass - Most objects have their mass spread out through the object (i.e., the mass of
Earth is spread out inside the volume of the spherical Earth).
However, Newton showed that the mass of a distributed spherical body (such as Earth) can be
thought of as a point mass (all mass concentrated at a single point) at the center of mass of the
object.
The center of mass is the point that is the weighted average of the distribution of mass for that
object.