Aeronomy
Meteorology |
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Climatology |
Aeronomy |
Glossaries |
Aeronomy is the scientific study of the upper atmosphere of the Earth and corresponding regions of the atmospheres of other planets. It is a branch of both atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics. Scientists specializing in aeronomy, known as aeronomers, study the motions and chemical composition and properties of the Earth's upper atmosphere and regions of the atmospheres of other planets that correspond to it, as well as the interaction between upper atmospheres and the space environment.[1] In atmospheric regions aeronomers study, chemical dissociation and ionization are important phenomena.
History
The mathematician Sydney Chapman introduced the term aeronomy to describe the study of the Earth's upper atmosphere[2] in 1946 in a letter to the editor of Nature entitled "Some Thoughts on Nomenclature."[3] The term became official in 1954 when the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics adopted it.[4] "Aeronomy" later also began to refer to the study of the corresponding regions of the atmospheres of other planets.
Branches
Aeronomy can be divided into three main branches: terrestrial aeronomy, planetary aeronomy, and comparative aeronomy.[5]
Terrestrial aeronomy
Terrestrial aeronomy focuses on the Earth's upper atmosphere, which extends from the stratopause to the atmosphere's boundary with outer space and is defined as consisting of the mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere and their ionized component, the ionosphere.[6] Terrestrial aeronomy contrasts with meteorology, which is the scientific study of the Earth's lower atmosphere, defined as the troposphere and stratosphere.[5][7][note 1] Although terrestrial aeronomy and meteorology once were completely separate fields of scientific study, cooperation between terrestrial aeronomers and meteorologists has grown as discoveries made since the early 1990s have demonstrated that the upper and lower atmospheres have an impact on one another's physics, chemistry, and biology.[5]
Terrestrial aeronomers study
Atmospheric tides
Atmospheric tides are global-scale periodic oscillations of the Earth′s atmosphere, analogous in many ways to ocean
Upper-atmospheric lightning
"Upper-atmospheric lightning" or "upper-atmospheric discharge" are terms aeronomers sometimes use to refer to a family of electrical-breakdown phenomena in the Earth's upper atmosphere that occur well above the altitudes of the
Planetary aeronomy
Planetary aeronomy studies the regions of the atmospheres of other planets
Comparative aeronomy
Comparative aeronomy uses the findings of terrestrial and planetary aeronomy — traditionally separate scientific fields[6] — to compare the characteristics and behaviors of the atmospheres of other planets with one another and with the upper atmosphere of Earth.[6] It seeks to identify and describe the ways in which differing chemistry, magnetic fields, and thermodynamics on various planets affect the creation, evolution, diversity, and disappearance of atmospheres.[6]
Notes
- ^ An alternative definition divides the atmosphere into three rather than two parts, with the "upper atmosphere" limited to the exosphere and thermosphere, the mesosphere and stratosphere making up the "middle atmosphere," and the "lower atmosphere" consisting only of the troposphere. Use of this definition does not change the focus of aeronomy, which is all of the Earth's atmosphere above the stratopause, or of meteorology, which is all of the Earth's atmosphere below the stratopause.
See also
- Atmospheric chemistry
- Atmospheric physics
- Exosphere
- Ionosphere
- Mesosphere
- Meteorology
- Space physics
- Thermosphere
References
- ISBN 978-94-009-6403-7.
- ISBN 978-0-387-87824-9.
- ^ Sydney Chapman, "Some Thoughts on Nomenclature," Nature 157, (1946): 405. Available on-line at: Nature.
- ^ Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy "Aeronomy, atmosphere science, what is it?" Accessed 21 May 2021
- ^ a b c d "Mendillo, Michael, Andrew Nagy, and J .H. Waite, "Introduction," Atmospheres in the Solar System: Comparative Aeronomy, Geophysical Monograph Series Volume 130, 2002, unpaginated Accessed 23 March 2021". Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Mendillo, Michael, Andrew Nagy, and J .H. Waite, "Preface," Atmospheres in the Solar System: Comparative Aeronomy, Geophysical Monograph Series Volume 130, 2002, unpaginated Accessed 23 March 2021". Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Planetary Aeronomy," Imperial College London Accessed 23 March 2021
- ISBN 978-0-12-582050-9.
- ^ Volland, H., "Atmospheric Tidal and Planetary Waves", Kluwer Publ., Dordrecht, 1988
- ^ Earle R. Williams (November 2001) "Sprites, elves, and glow discharge tubes," Physics Today, 54 (11) : 41-47. Available on-line at: Physics Today Archived 2012-05-27 at archive.today.
- ^ Nagy, Andrew F., "History of Planetary Aeronomy," cosmos.esa.int Accessed 23 March 2021
- ISBN 978-3-662-09362-7Accessed 23 March 2021
External links
- Media related to Aeronomy at Wikimedia Commons
- The NOAA Aeronomy Laboratory