Nordheim, T;
Dartnell, LR;
Desorgher, L;
Coates, AJ;
Jones, GH;
(2015)
Ionization of the Venusian atmosphere from Solar and Galactic Cosmic Rays.
Icarus
, 245
pp. 80-86.
10.1016/j.icarus.2014.09.032.
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Abstract
The atmospheres of the terrestrial planets are exposed to solar and galactic cosmic rays, the most energetic of which are capable of affecting deep atmospheric layers through extensive nuclear and electromagnetic particle cascades. In the Venusian atmosphere, cosmic rays are expected to be the dominant ionization source below ~100 km altitude. While previous studies have considered the effect of cosmic ray ionization using approximate transport methods, we have for the first time performed full 3D Monte Carlo modelling of cosmic ray interaction with the Venusian atmosphere, including the contribution of high-Z cosmic ray ions (Z=1-28). Our predictions are similar to those of previous studies at the ionization peak near 63 km altitude, but are significantly different to these both above and below this altitude. The rate of atmospheric ionization is a fundamental atmospheric property and the results of this study have wide-reaching applications in topics including atmospheric electrical processes, cloud microphysics and atmospheric chemistry.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Ionization of the Venusian atmosphere from Solar and Galactic Cosmic Rays |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.icarus.2014.09.032 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2014.09.032 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | Venus, Atmosphere, Ionospheres, Aeronomy |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Science and Technology Studies UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Space and Climate Physics |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1449526 |
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