Formation of structures in a dusty ionosphere

An analysis of the evolution of microscopic particles (dust grains) in the Earth's ionosphere and their effect on ionization in the middle atmosphere is presented. It is shown that summer conditions in the polar ionosphere, which are characterized by an ambient air temperature below 150 K and presence of supersaturated water vapor, facilitate the formation of dust structures in the middle atmosphere, such as noctilucent clouds and polar mesospheric summer echoes. The ionospheric plasma composition can change significantly in the regions occupied by these structures. Depending on photoelectric properties of the grains, their presence may lead to excess, or decrease in, electron concentration and complex behavior of ion concentration. The proposed self-consistent model of the ionosphere allows for grain growth, sedimentation, and charging and can be used to explain the behavior of ionization under summer conditions in the polar ionosphere. (C) 2005 Pleiades Publishing, Inc.