Sporadic sodium and E layers observed during the summer 2002 MaCWAVE/MIDAS rocket campaign

• Main Authors: Williams, B. P., Croskey, C. L., She, C. Y., Mitchell, J. D., Goldberg, R. A.
• Other Authors: Colorado Research Associates Boulder (CoRA), NorthWest Research Associates (NWRA), Communications and Space Sciences Laboratory PennState (CSSL), Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), Penn State System-Penn State System, Department of Physics, Colorado State University Fort Collins (CSU), GSFC Solar and Space Physics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: CCSD 2006
• Subjects: [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; [SDU.STU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences; Alomar; Andøya; Norway
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00318042; https://hal.science/hal-00318042v1/document; https://hal.science/hal-00318042v1/file/angeo-24-1257-2006.pdf

International audience On 5 July 2002, a MaCWAVE ( M ountain and C onvective W aves A scending VE rtically) payload launched from Andøya Rocket Range, Norway, observed narrow enhanced layers of electron density that were nearly coincident with sporadic sodium layers measured by the Weber sodium lidar at the nearby ALOMAR Observatory. We investigate the formation mechanism of these layers using the neutral wind and temperature profiles measured directly by the lidar and the vertical motion deduced from the sodium mixing ratio. Through comparisons of the lidar data to the sporadic E in situ data, we find support for the concentration and downward motion of ions to an altitude where chemical models predict the rapid conversion of sodium ions to neutral sodium.