MODELING EFFECTS OF AN H-2 GAS RELEASE ON EQUATORIAL IONOSPHERE

Release of a chemically reactive gas such as H//2 into the ionosphere F region results in a depletion of the electron density due to high charge exchange rate between the dominant O** plus ion and the H//2 gas, with subsequent dissociative recombination of the product ions and electrons. The simulated response of the low-latitude nighttime (dusk) ionosphere to a point release of H//2 gas is simulated by solving the coupled set of time-dependent continuity equations for O** plus and the product ions OH** plus , H//2O** plus , and H//3O** plus , including the effects of production, loss, and transport of ionization. The flux of tube electron content reduction and the Pedersen conductivity reduction capable of being produced by the chemical releases are also calculated.