Atmosfæren er bygd opp av nitrogen og oksygen. Opp til 60-70 km er atmosfæren stort sett nøytral, alle atomer har like mye positiv som negativ ladning. Høyere oppe vil røntgenstråling og energirike partikler forårsake ionisering, dvs. en del atomer blir spaltet i positive ion og frie elektroner. Det er dette høydeområdet fra ca. 60-1000 km, med relativt stor tetthet av drie ladede partikler, som nå ...

On 6 December 2002, during winter darkness, an extraordinary event occurred in the sky, as viewed from Longyearbyen (78° N, 15° E), Svalbard, Norway. At 07:30 UT the southeast sky was surprisingly lit up in a deep red colour. The light increased in intensity and spread out across the sky, and at 10:00 UT the illumination was observed to reach the zenith. The event died out at about 12:30 UT. Spectral ...

Solar cycle and seasonal variations have been found in the occurrence of strong thermally excited 630.0 nm emissions in the polar ionosphere. Measurements from the European Incoherent Scatter Svalbard Radar have been used to derive the thermal emission intensity. Thermally excited emissions have been found to maximize at solar maximum with peak occurrence rate of ∼40% compared to ∼2% at solar minimum. ...

Cosmic noise at 40 MHz is measured at Ny-Ålesund (79° N, 12° E) using a relative ionospheric opacity meter ("riometer"). A riometer is normally used to determine the degree to which cosmic noise is absorbed by the intervening ionosphere, giving an indication of ionisation of the atmosphere at altitudes lower than generally monitored by other instruments. The usual course is to determine a "quiet-day" ...

We search for the presence of tidal signatures in high latitude mesospheric turbulence as parameterized by turbulent energy dissipation rate estimated using a medium frequency radar, quantifying our findings with the aid of correlation analyses. A diurnal periodicity is not particularly evident during the winter and spring months but is a striking feature of the summer mesopause. While semidiurnal ...

We present a seasonal climatology of tropopause altitude for 78° N 16° E derived from observations 2007–2010 by the SOUSY VHF radar on Svalbard. The spring minimum occurs one month later than that of surface air temperature and instead coincides with the maximum in ozone column density. This confirms similar studies based on radiosonde measurements in the arctic and demonstrates downward control by ...