Kinetics and model simulations of nickel in the upper atmosphere
Abstract
The major source of metals in the upper atmosphere is the ~40 tonnes of interplanetary dust that enters each day from space. This gives rise to the layers of metal atoms and ions that occur globally in the upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere (MLT) region between about 75 and 120 km. Metal species in the upper atmosphere offer a unique way of observing this region and of testing the accuracy of climate models in the domain. The focus of this project was to explore the MLT chemistry of nickel. The nickel layer has recently been discovered and documented on two separate occasions by Collins et al. (2015) and Gerding et al. (2018). This research presents the laboratory kinetics of nickel with O2, N2, H2O, CO2, O and CO and the updated model simulations of nickel using the Whole Atmospheric Community Climate Model (WACCM). These model simulations will be directly compared with the lidar observations.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFM.P21F3435D
- Keywords:
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- 0340 Middle atmosphere: composition and chemistry;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE;
- 6015 Dust;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: COMETS AND SMALL BODIES;
- 5704 Atmospheres;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: FLUID PLANETS;
- 6245 Meteors;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS