Mass spectrometric investigation of the thermosphere at high latitudes

The number densities for N2, O2, O, and Ar in the 115–155 km range were measured by means of a monopole spectrometer flown aboard a Black Brant 3 rocket launched at the Churchill Research Range on December 12, 1966, at 1320 CST. The N2 density at 150-km altitude was found to be higher by a factor of 1.3 than the average of mass spectrometric determinations performed at temperate latitudes during the years 1966 and 1967. A low Ar content and a High He content (the latter measured by a mass filter aboard the same rocket) both point toward an altitude of the turbopause below 100 km. Unexpected high O2 densities in the ion source could only be explained by a considerable degree of recombination of O to O2 at the ion source walls. Similar to the ESRO CO7 flight, but less pronounced, a wave-like structure was found superimposed on the density profiles of all constituents. Neutral gas temperatures did not significantly deviate from the CIRA 1965 values.

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