The Origin of Atmospheric Oxygen

1941 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 149-151
Author(s):  
Robert L. Nichols
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
High Temperatures ◽  
Atmospheric Oxygen ◽  
Volcanic Gases ◽  
Original Source ◽  
Green Plants ◽  
Earth’S Atmosphere ◽  
Earth's Atmosphere ◽  
Quantitative Importance

Summary From the literature several theories of the origin of O2 in the atmosphere are quoted: Oxygen may have been an original constituent, or formed by impact of white hot planetesimals with water vapor (the hydrogen escaping from the earth's atmosphere, or green plants release O2 in photosynthesis, or volcanic vents emitted it (probably not an original source). The author then suggests 6 other possible sources: by meteors, stony meteorites, high temperatures, or penetrating radiations, in the high atmosphere; by lightning and by decomposition of chlorine from volcanic gases, in geologically past times. It is not possible to make very accurate estimates of the quantitative importance of many of these sources.

scholarly journals Absorption of solar radiation by water vapor, oxygen, and related collision pairs in the Earth's atmosphere

1998 ◽  
Vol 103 (D4) ◽  
pp. 3847-3858 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Solomon ◽  
R. W. Portmann ◽  
R. W. Sanders ◽  
J. S. Daniel
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Earth’S Atmosphere ◽  
Earth's Atmosphere

scholarly journals Exploring earth's atmosphere with radio occultation: contributions to weather, climate and space weather

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Anthes
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Electron Density ◽  
Space Weather ◽  
Radio Occultation ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Atmospheric Research ◽  
Earth’S Atmosphere ◽  
Satellite Constellation ◽  
Earth's Atmosphere ◽  
Satellite Missions

Abstract. The launch of the proof-of-concept mission GPS/MET in 1995 began a revolution in profiling earth's atmosphere through radio occultation (RO). GPS/MET; subsequent single-satellite missions CHAMP, SAC-C, GRACE, METOP-A, and TerraSAR-X; and the six-satellite constellation, FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC, have proven the theoretical capabilities of RO to provide accurate and precise profiles of electron density in the ionosphere and refractivity, containing information on temperature and water vapor, in the stratosphere and troposphere. This paper summarizes results from these RO missions and the applications of RO observations to atmospheric research and operational weather analysis and prediction.

Raman lidar system for the measurement of water vapor and aerosols in the Earth’s atmosphere

1992 ◽  
Vol 31 (16) ◽  
pp. 3068 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. N. Whiteman ◽  
S. H. Melfi ◽  
R. A. Ferrare
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Raman Lidar ◽  
Lidar System ◽  
Earth’S Atmosphere ◽  
Earth's Atmosphere

scholarly journals Measurements of ice nucleation by mineral dusts in the contact mode

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 20291-20309 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. W. Bunker ◽  
S. China ◽  
C. Mazzoleni ◽  
A. Kostinski ◽  
W. Cantrell
Keyword(s):  
High Temperatures ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Ice Nucleation ◽  
Submicron Particles ◽  
Cloud Physics ◽  
Contact Mode ◽  
Earth’S Atmosphere ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Mineral Dusts ◽  
Earth's Atmosphere

Abstract. Formation of ice in Earth's atmosphere at temperatures above approximately −20 °C is one of the outstanding problems in cloud physics. Contact nucleation has been suggested as a possible mechanism for freezing at relatively high temperatures; some laboratory experiments have shown contact freezing activity at temperatures as high as −4 °C. We have investigated Arizona Test Dust and kaolinite as contact nuclei as a function of size and temperature and find that the fraction of submicron particles that are active as contact ice nuclei is less than 10−3 for −18 °C and greater. We also find that the different dusts are quite distinct in their effectiveness as contact nuclei; Arizona Test Dust catalyzed freezing in the contact mode at all mobility diameters we tested at −18 °C whereas kaolinite triggered freezing only for mobility diameters of 1000 and 500 nm at that temperature.

scholarly journals ENERGY AND VISION

1921 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 743-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Lecomte du Noüy
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Rock Salt ◽  
Wave Length ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Great Care ◽  
Earth’S Atmosphere ◽  
Reflected Light ◽  
Earth's Atmosphere ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
Good Agreement

A method was devised for measuring the minimum visibile in different parts of the spectrum, as done by Langley in 1888. The results are generally in good agreement with those given by this author, although not as close on both sides of the wave length 0.55 µ; this may be due partly to the use of a rock salt prism, to the fact that the minimum was determined by looking at a beam of diffused transmitted, instead of diffused reflected light, and also to the fact that Langley experimented with the sun, through the earth's atmosphere, and had to take into account the thickness of the atmosphere interposed and the brightness of the sky. Although his experiments were made with great care, the differences from one day to another are important. However, when he expresses the energy in absolute units, he always refers to the same mean amount of energy radiated by the sun on 1 sq. cm. This amount is certainly not constant, if one judges from the differences observed in two measurements of sensitivity of the eye of the same individual at different dates. On the contrary, for a given wave length, our measurements always agreed closely, as our source of radiation was very nearly constant, owing to the absence of a varying amount of water vapor interposed. This may in some way account for the discrepancies observed.

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