Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics www.atmos-chem-phys.net 1680-7316 1680-7324 8 14 2008 10.5194/acp-8-3919-2008 http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/8/3919/2008/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/8/3919/2008/acp-8-3919-2008.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/8/3919/2008/acp-8-3919-2008.pdf 3919 3928 2008-07-23 Chemistry of sprite discharges through ion-neutral reactions Y. Hiraki hiraki@stelab.nagoya-u.ac.jp Y. Kasai H. Fukunishi Solar-Terrestrial Environment Lab, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Koganei, Tokyo, Japan Department of Geophysics, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan We estimate the concentration changes, caused by streamer discharge in sprites, of ozone and related minor species as odd nitrogen (NO_x) and hydrogen (HO_x) families in the upper stratosphere and mesosphere. The streamer has an intense electric field and high electron density at its head, where a large number of chemically-radical ions and atoms are produced through electron impact on neutral molecules. After its propagation, densities of minor species can be perturbed through ion-neutral chemical reactions initiated by the relaxation of these radical products. We evaluate the production rates of ions and atoms using an electron kinetics model and by assuming that the electric field and electron density are in the head region. We calculate the density variations mainly for NO_x, O_x, and HO_x species using a one-dimensional model of the neutral and ion composition of the middle atmosphere, including the effect of the sprite streamer. Results at the nighttime condition show that the densities of NO, O₃, H, and OH increase suddenly through reactions triggered by the first atomic nitrogen and oxygen product, and electrons just after streamer initiation. 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