Engineering topics

Fox, J. L.

Publications and source records attributed to Fox, J. L..

At least 19 records

NASA NTRS1999

Studies of Excited Species in Planetary Upper Atmospheres

During the period of this portion of the on-going project, we investigated aspects of the upper atmospheres of Venus, Mars, Titan and Jupiter. During this period, we published four journal articles and one book chapter, copies of which are attached. The work reported in these manuscripts was in almost all cases begun under previous projects in the Planetary Atmospheres Program with the same title. I will summarize the papers, and another project that we worked on during this time period for which the papers will be published later.

Fox, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Hydrocarbon Ions in the Ionospheres of Titan and Jupiter

Two examples are given of models of ion chemistry in reducing atmospheres: Titan, which is a satellite of Saturn, and Jupiter, the largest of the gas giants. In both ionospheres, layers of hydrocarbon and/or C, H, and N-containing ions have been predicted to appear, with larger ions dominating at lower altitudes. Altitude profiles are presented for individual C1- and C2-hydrocarbon ions and larger ions that are represented for example, as C(x)H(y)(+) and C(x)H(y)N(x)(+). The accuracy of the predictions is, however, limited by the availability of information about the chemistry of these ions. In addition to rate coefficients and product channels for ion-molecule reactions, dissociative recombination coefficients and branching ratios are needed for many hydrocarbon and and related ions.

Fox, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1994

The chemistry of hydrocarbon ions in the Jovian ionosphere

We have modeled the chemistry of hydrocarbon ions in the jovian ionosphere. We find that a layer of hydrocarbon ions is formed in the altitude range 300-400 km above the ammonia cloud tops, due largely to direct ionization of hydrocarbons by photons in the wings of the H2 absorption lines in the 912- to 1100-A region that penetrate to below the methane homopause. We have explicitly included in the model 156 ion-neutral reactions involving hydrocaron ions with up to two carbon atoms. Larger hydrocarbon ions are included as two pseudoions, C3Hn(+) and C4Hn(+). The model shows that 15 reactions of H(+), CH3(+), CH5(+), C2H3(+), C2H5(+), and C2H6(+) with hydrocarbon neutrals are the major processes that are responsible for the production and growth of C1-, C2- and C3- or C4-ions in the hydrocarbon ion layer. The model also shows that ions initially produced in the hydrocarbon ion layer are converted into hydrocarbon ions with more than two carbon atoms with very little loss by recombination. It is likely that successive hydrocarbon ion-neutral reactions continue to produce even larger hydrocarbon ions, so the terminal ions probably have more than three or four carbon atoms. In the auroral regions, the chemistry of hydrocarbon ions may modify the densities of neutral hydrocarbons, especially C2H2 in the upper mesosphere, and may play a major role in the production of polar haze particles.

Kim, Y. H.↗

NASA NTRS1994

The downward flux of O(+) over the nightside of Venus

We have constructed a map of the downward flux of O(+) over the nightside of Venus at high and low solar activities through a combination of modeling and analysis of Pioneer Venus ion mass spectrometer data. O(+) density profiles were obtained for almost 40 inbound or outbound segments of orbits from the first 2 years of the mission and about 40 more in the recent reentry phase of the mission. We have determined the nearly linear relationship between the 0(+) maximum density and the downward O(+) flux for several solar zenith angles and local times by constructing models of the nightside ionosphere of Venus for a range of downward ion fluxes at the upper boundaries. We find that the largest downward fluxes occur near the terminators, and the fluxes fall off sharply toward the antisolar point. Although the standard deviations in the data are large, there is a suggestion of a local maximum near 155 deg, and the location of this maximum correlates fairly well with structure in the peak electron density as a function of solar zenith angle reported for the Pioneer Venus radio occulation experiment. The average downward ion flux is inferred to be about 1.7 x 10(exp 8)/sq cm/sec over the nightside hemisphere at solar maximum and a factor of 7 less at moderately low solar activity.

Brannon, J. J.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Mars atmospheric loss and isotopic fractionation by solar-wind-induced sputtering and photochemical escape

We examine the effects of the loss of Mars atmospheric constituents by solar-wind-induced sputtering and by photochemical escape during the past 3.8 billion years. Sputtering is capable of efficiently removing species from the upper atmosphere, including the light noble gases; nitrogen and oxygen are removed by photochemical processes as well. Due to diffusive separation (by mass) above the homopause, removal from the top of the atmosphere will fractionate the isotopes of each species, with the lighter mass being preferentially lost. For carbon and oxygen, this allows us to determine the size of nonatmospheric reservoirs which mix with the atmosphere; these reservoirs can be CO2 adsorbed in the regolith and H2O in the polar ice caps. We have constructed both simple analytical models and time-dependent models of the loss of volatiles from and supply to the martian atmosphere. Both argon and neon require continued replenishment from outgassing over geologic time. For argon, sputtering loss explains the fractionation of (Ar-36)/(Ar-38) without requiring a distinct epoch of hydrodynamic escape (although fractionation of Xe isotopes still requires very early hydrodynamic loss). For neon, the current (Ne-22)/(Ne-20) ratio represents a balance between loss to space and continued resupply from the interior; the similarity of the ratio to the terrestrial value is coincidental. For nitrogen, the loss by both sputtering and photochemical escape would produce a fractionation of (N-15)/(N-14) larger than observed; an early, thicker carbon dioxide atmosphere could mitigate the nitrogen loss and produce the observed fractionation, as could continued outgassing of juvenile nitorgen. Based on the isotopic constraints, the total amount of carbon dioxide lost over geologic time is probably on the order of tens of millibars rather than a substantial fraction of a bar. The total loss from solar-wind-induced sputtering and photochemical escape, therefore, does not seem able to explain the loss of a putative thick, early atmosphere withput requiring formation of extensive surface carbonate deposits or other nonatmospheric reservoirs for CO2.

Jakosky, Bruce M.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Rate coefficient for the reaction N + NO

Evidence has been advanced that the rate coefficient for the reaction N + NO right arrow N2 + O has a small positive temperature dependence at the high temperatures (900 to 1500 K) that prevail in the terrestrial middle and upper thermosphere by Siskind and Rusch (1992), and at the low temperatures (100 to 200 K) of the Martian lower thermosphere by Fox (1993). Assuming that the rate coefficient recommended by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory evaluation (DeMore et al., 1992) is accurate at 300 K, we derive here the low temperature value of the activation energy for this reaction and thus the rate coefficient that best fits the Viking 1 measured NO densities. We find that the fit is acceptable for a rate coefficient of about 1.3 x 10(exp -10)(T/300)(exp 0.5)exp(-400/T) and better for a value of about 2.5 x 10(exp -10)(T/300)(exp 0.5)exp(-600/T)cu cm/s.

Fox, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Mars atmospheric loss and isotopic fractionation by pick-up-ion sputtering and photochemical escape

We examine the effects of loss of constituents of the Martian atmosphere due to sputtering by solar-wind pick-up ions and photochemical escape during the last 3.8 billion years. Sputtering is capable of efficiently removing species from the upper atmosphere to space, including the light noble gases; nitrogen and oxygen are removed by both sputtering ad photochemical processes. Due to diffusive separation (by mass) above the homopause, removal from the top of the atmosphere will fractionate the isotopes of each species, with the lighter isotope being preferentially lost. This allows current measurements of the isotopic ratios to be used as a measure of the atmospheric evolution as integrated over geologic time. For carbon and oxygen, isotopic fractionation is buffered by exchange of atmospheric species with non-atmospheric reservoirs of CO2 and H2O. This allows us to determine the size of the non-atmospheric reservoirs which are capable of mixing with the atmosphere; these reservoirs can be CO2 absorbed in the regolith and/or H2O in the polar ice caps. Such an exchangeable reservoir is required in order to keep the fractionation of the atmospheric gases as low as is observed.

Jakosky, B. M.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Ion Chemistry in Atmospheric and Astrophysical Plasmas

There are many differences and also remarkable similarities between the ion chemistry and physics of planetary ionospheres and the ion chemistry and physics of astronomical environments beyond the solar system. In the early Universe, an expanded cooling gas of hydrogen and helium was embedded in the cosmic background radiation field and ionized by it. As the Universe cooled by adiabatic expansion, recombination occurred and molecular formation was driven by catalytic reactions involving the relict electrons and protons. Similar chemical processes are effective in the ionized zones of gaseous and planetary nebulae and in stellar winds where the ionization is due to radiation from the central stars, in the envelopes of supernovae where the ionization is initiated by the deposition of gamma-rays, in dissociative shocks where the ionization arises from electron impacts in a hot gas and in quasar broad-line region clouds where the quasar is responsible for the ionization. At high altitudes in the atmospheres of the Jovian planets, the main constituents are hydrogen and helium and the ion chemistry and physics is determined by the same processes, the source of the ionization being solar ultraviolet radiation and cosmic rays. After the collapse of the first distinct astronomical entities to emerge from the uniform flow, heavy elements were created by nuclear burning in the cores of the collapsed objects and distributed throughout the Universe by winds and explosions. The chemistry and physics became more complicated. Over 90 distinct molecular species have been identified in interstellar clouds where they are ionized globally by cosmic ray impacts and locally by radiation and shocks associated with star formation and evolution. Complex molecules have also been found in circumstellar shells of evolved stars. At intermediate and low altitudes in the Jovian atmospheres, the ion chemistry is complicated by the increasing abundance of heavy elements such as carbon, and an extensive array of complex molecules has been predicted. Reactions involving heavy elements dominate the structure of the ionspheres of the terrestrial planets and the satellites Titan and Triton.

Dalgarno, A.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Evidence for day-to-night ion transport at low solar activity in the Venus pre-dawn ionosphere

Periapsis of the Pioneer Venus (PV) spacecraft dropped below 180 km on August 28, 1992 near midnight, and 42 orbits of low altitude data at moderately low solar activity in the pre-dawn sector were obtained before contact was lost to the spacecraft in October, 1992. Through a combination of analysis of data from the PV orbiter ion mass spectrometer (OIMS) and modeling, we consider here what can be learned about the relative importance of plasma transport from the dayside and electron precipitation in maintaining the nightside ionosphere during the re-entry period. In particular, we examine here the atomic ion density profiles. We compute the average peak density of O(+) as a function of solar zenith angle and determine what fluxes of atomic ions or precipitating electrons would be necessary to produce those values. We then compare model calculations of the ion densities to those observed during the re-entry period. We find that the low solar activity nightside ionosphere shows evidence of significant day-to-night plasma transport.

Brannon, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Evidence for Day-to-Night Ion Transport at Low Solar Activity in the Venus Pre-Dawn Ionosphere

Periapsis of the Pioneer Venus spacecraft 2 dropped below 180 km on August 28, 1992 near midnight, and 42 orbits of low altitude data at moderately low solar activity in the pre-dawn sector were obtained before contact was lost to the spacecraft in October, 1992. Through a combination of analysis of data from the PV orbiter ion mass spectrometer (OIMS) and modeling, we consider here what can be learned about the relative importance of plasma transport from the dayside and electron precipitation in maintaining the nightside ionosphere during the re-entry period. In particular, we examine here the atomic ion density profiles. We compute the average peak density of O(+) as a function of solar zenith angle and determine what fluxes of atomic ions or precipitating electrons would he necessary to produce those values. We then compare model calculations of the ion densities to those observed during the re-entry period. We find that the low solar activity nightside ionosphere shows evidence of significant day-to-night plasma transport.

Brannon, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Evidence for Day-to-Night Ion Transport at Low Solar Activity in the Venus Pre-Dawn Ionosphere

Periapsis of the Pioneer Venus spacecraft dropped below 180 km on August 28, 1992 near midnight, and 42 orbits of low altitude data at moderately low solar activity in the pre-dawn sector were obtained before contact was lost to the spacecraft in October, 1992. Through a combination of analysis of data from the PV orbiter ion mass spectrometer (OIMS) and modeling, we consider here what can be learned about the relative importance of plasma transport from the dayside and electron precipitation in maintaining the nightside ionosphere during the re-entry period. In particular, we examine here the atomic ion density profiles. We compute the average peak density of O(+) as a function of solar zenith angle and determine what fluxes of atomic ions or precipitating electrons would be necessary to produce those values. We then compare model calculations of the ion densities to those observed during the re-entry period. We find that the low solar activity nightside ionosphere shows evidence of significant day-to-night plasma transport.

Brannon, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS1993

On the escape of oxygen and hydrogen from Mars

Escape rates of oxygen atoms from dissociative recombination of O2(+) above the Martian exobase are computed in light of new information from ab initio calculations of the dissociative recombination process and our recently revised understanding of the Martian dayside ionosphere. Only about 60 percent of the dissociative recombinations occur in channels in which the O atoms are released with energies in excess of the escape velocity. Futhermore, we find that the computed escape fluxes for O depend greatly on the nature of the ion loss process that has been found necessary to reproduce the topside ion density profiles measured by Viking. If it is assumed that the ions are not lost from the gravitational field of the planet, as required by an analysis of nitrogen escape, the computed average O escape rate is 3 x 10 exp 6/sq cm/s, much less than half the H escape rates inferred from measurements of the Lyman-alpha dayglow, which are in the range (1-2) x 10 exp 8/sq cm/s. Suggestions for restoring the relative escape rates of H and O to the stoichiometric ratio of water are explored.

Fox, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Upper limits to the nightside ionosphere of Mars

The nightside ionosphere of Mars could be produced by electron precipitation or by plasma transport from the dayside, by analogy to the Venus, but few measurements are available. We report here model calculations of upper limits to the nightside ion densities on Mars that would be produced by both mechanisms. For the auroral model, we have adopted the downward traveling portions of the electron spectra measured by the HARP instrument on the Soviet Phobos spacecraft in the Martian plasma sheet and in the magnetotail lobes. For the plasma transport case, we have imposed on a model of the nightside thermosphere, downward fluxes of O(+), C(+), N(+), NO(+) and O2(+) that are near the maximum upward fluxes that can be sustained by the dayside ionosphere. The computed electron density peaks are in the range (1.3 - 1.9) x 10 exp 4/cu cm at altitudes of 159 to 179 kin. The major ion for all the models is O2(+), but significant differences in the composition of the minor ions are found for the ionospheres produced by auroral precipitation and by plasma transport. The calculations reported here provide a guide to the data that should be acquired during a future aeronomy mission to Mars, in order to determine the sources of the nightside ionosphere.

Fox, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1993

The production and escape of nitrogen atoms on Mars

Updated rate coefficients and a revised ionosphere-thermosphere model are used to compute the production rates and densities of odd nitrogen species in the Martian atmosphere. Computed density profiles for N(4S), N(2D), N(2P), and NO are presented. The model NO densities are found to be about a factor of 2-3 less than those measured by the Viking 1 mass spectrometer. Revised values for the escape rates of N atoms from dissociative recombination and ionospheric reactions are also computed. Dissociative recombination is found to be comparable in importance to photodissociation at low solar activity, but it is still the most important escape mechanism for N-14 at high solar activity.

Fox, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Requirements for the early atmosphere of Mars from nitrogen isotope ratios

The N escape models of Fox and Dalgarno and Fox required the presence of a dense, early CO2 atmosphere to inhibit fractionation of the N isotopes N-15 and N-14. The computed photochemical escape fluxes are so large at the present that the isotope ratio measured by Viking (about 1.62x terrestrial) can be produced in about 1.5 b.y. This model was refined in several ways. It was updated to incorporate the variation of the escape fluxes with increases in the solar fluxes at earlier times according to the model of Zahnle and Walker. As expected, this exacerbates the problem with overfractionation, but not greatly. Most of the escape and fractionation of the N occurs in the last 1.5 b.y., when the solar flux was only slightly different from the present. The dense early atmosphere must persist only a bit longer in order to reproduce the measured isotope ratio. The model was also modified to take into account changes in the O mixing ratio with time in the past, assuming that the O abundance is proportional to the square root of the solar flux. Although the production rate of O from photodissociation of CO2 scales as the solar flux, the strength of the winds and other mixing processes also increases with the solar flux, resulting in possibly more effective transport of O to the lower atmosphere where it is destroyed by catalytic and three-body recombination mechanisms.

Fox, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Mars atmosphere loss and isotopic fractionation by solar-wind-induced sputtering and photochemical escape

The effects of loss of Mars atmospheric constituents by solar-wind-induced sputtering and by photochemical escape during the last 3.8 b.y. were examined. Sputtering is capable of efficiently removing all species from the upper atmosphere, including the light noble gases; N also is removed by photochemical processes. Due to the diffusive separation by mass above the homopause, removal from the top of the atmosphere will fractionate the isotopes of each species, with the lighter mass being preferentially lost. For C and O, this allows us to determine the size of nonatmospheric reservoirs that mix with the atmosphere; these reserviors can be accounted for by exchange with CO2 adsorbed in the regolith and with H2O in the polar ice deposits. Both simple analytical models and time-dependent models of the loss of volatiles from and supply to the Martian atmosphere were constructed. Both Ar and Ne require continued replenishment from outgassing over geologic time.

Jakosky, B. M.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Mars atmospheric loss and isotopic fractionation by solar-wind-induced sputtering and photochemical escape

We examine the effects of loss of Mars atmospheric constituents by solar-wind-induced sputtering and by photochemical escape during the last 3.8 b.y. Sputtering is capable of efficiently removing all species from the upper atmosphere including the light noble gases; N is removed by photochemical processes as well. Due to diffusive separation (by mass) above the homopause, removal from the top of the atmosphere will fractionate the isotopes of each species with the lighter mass being preferentially lost. For C and O, this allows us to determine the size of nonatmospheric reservoirs that mix with the atmosphere; these reservoirs can be CO2 adsorbed in the regolith or H2O in the polar ice caps. We have constructed both simple analytical models and time-dependent models of the loss from and supply of volatiles to the Martian atmosphere.

Jakosky, B. M.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Dissociative recombination in planetary ionospheres

Ionization in planetary atmospheres can be produced by solar photoionization, photoelectron impact ionization, and, in auroral regions, by impact of precipitating particles. This ionization is lost mainly in dissociative recombination (DR) of molecular ions. Although atomic ions cannot undergo DR, they can be transformed locally through ion-molecule reactions into molecular ions, or they may be transported vertically or horizontally to regions of the atmosphere where such transformations are possible. Because DR reactions tend to be very exothermic, they can be an important source of kinetically or internally excited fragments. In interplanetary thermospheres, the neutral densities decrease exponentially with altitude. Below the homopause (or turbopause), the atmosphere is assumed to be throughly mixed by convection and/or turbulence. Above the homopause, diffusion is the major transport mechanism, and each species is distributed according to its mass, with the logarithmic derivative of the density with repect to altitude given approximately by -1/H, where H = kT/mg is the scale height. In this expression, T is the neutral temperature, g is the local acceleratiion of gravity, and m is the mass of the species. Thus lighter species become relatively more abundant, and heavier species less abundant, as the altitude increases. This variation of the neutral composition can lead to changes in the ion composition; furthermore, as the neutral densities decrease, dissociative recombination becomes more important relative to ion-neutral reactions as a loss mechanism for molecular ions.

Fox, J. L.↗