Abstract
MEASUREMENTS of atmospheric water vapour concentrations have been confined to altitudes below about 50 km showing an average volume mixing ratio of about 4×10−6 in the middle and upper stratosphere1. Only limited and rather indirect observational information on water vapour exists above 50 km including, for example, the presence of hydrated positive and negative ions and noctilucent clouds likely being composed of water ice particles. In a previous attempt to derive water vapour concentrations from measurements of hydrated positive ions, a mixing ratio between 1 and 2 × 10−6 below 78 km and a sharp decrease above was inferred2. In this paper, water vapour concentrations are derived at heights between 85km and 94km from two rocket-borne mass spectrometer measurements of atmospheric positive ions. The experiments took place at Andoya (69°N, 16°E) on May 31 1972 (ref. 3) and at Kiruna (68°N, 21°E) on August 18 1974 (ref. 4).
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Harries, J. E. Rev. geophys. Space Phys. 14, 4, 565–575 (1976).
Swider, W. & Narcisi, R. S. J. geophys. Res. 80, 655–664 (1975).
Arnold, F. & Krankowsky, D. Intn Symp. Solar–Terrestrial Phys. Programme Book, 3, 30–50 (COSPAR, Sao Paulo, 1974).
Arnold, F. & Krankowsky, D. Jahresbericht (Max-Planck-Institut for Nuclear Physics, Heidelberg, 1974).
Fehsenfeld, F. C., Moseman, M. & Ferguson, E. E. J. chem. Phys. 55, 2115–2125 (1971).
Howard, C. J., Bierbaum, V. M., Rundle, H. W. & Kaufman, F. J. chem. Phys. 57, 3491–3497 (1972).
Ferguson, E. E. Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables 12, 159 (1973).
Johnsen, R., Huang, C. M. & Biondi, M. A. J. chem. Phys. 63, 3374–3378 (1975).
Biondi, M. A. Adv. Atom. Molec. Phys. 6, 85 (1970).
Vanderhoff, J. A. & Niles, F. E. E&S Trans. Am. Geophys. Union 57, 303 (1976).
Friedrich, M. Int. Report INW 7401 (Technical University Graz, Austria, 1974).
Biondi, M. A. Canad. J. Chem. 47, 1711–1719 (1969).
Hesstvedt, E. A Photochemical atmosphere model containing oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen (Institute of Geophysics, University of Oslo).
Fukuyama, K. J. Atmosph. Terr. Phys. 36, 1297–1320 (1974).
CIRA 1972 COSPAR International Reference Atmosphere 1972 (Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, 1972).
Ebel, A. Space Research XIV, 195–199 (Akademie-Verlag, Berlin, 1974).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
ARNOLD, F., KRANKOWSKY, D. Water vapour concentrations at the mesopause. Nature 268, 218–219 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/268218a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/268218a0
This article is cited by
-
Satellite measurements of H2O fluorescence in the mesosphere
Nature (1981)
-
Advances in noctilucent cloud research in the space era
Pure and Applied Geophysics PAGEOPH (1980)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
