First optical detection of atomic deuterium in the upper atmosphere from Spacelab 1

dc.contributor.author	Bertaux, J.L.
dc.contributor.author	Goutail, F.
dc.contributor.author	Dimarellis, E.
dc.contributor.author	Kockarts, G.
dc.contributor.author	Van Ransbeeck, E.
dc.date	1984
dc.date.accessioned	2017-06-28T09:29:30Z
dc.date.available	2017-06-28T09:29:30Z
dc.identifier.uri	https://orfeo.belnet.be/handle/internal/5890
dc.description	Measurements of the deuterium-to-hydrogen ratios (D/H) in the fields of meteorology1,2, tropospheric3,4 and stratospheric chemistry5,6, planetology7,8 and cosmogony8,9 have previously been performed on molecules in which one hydrogen atom is replaced by one deuterium atom. We report here the first detection of isolated deuterium atoms in the Earth's upper atmosphere through their resonantly scattered Lyman-α emission. An atmospheric deuterium emission of 330 R (1 R=106 photons cm-2 s-1) is observed for a tangent altitude of 110 km during Spacelab 1 mission launched on 28 November 1983. The (D/H) ratio of 3×10-4 is slightly enriched over the seawater value of 1.6×10-4.
dc.language	eng
dc.title	First optical detection of atomic deuterium in the upper atmosphere from Spacelab 1
dc.type	Article
dc.subject.frascati	Physical sciences
dc.audience	Scientific
dc.source.title	Nature
dc.source.volume	309
dc.source.issue	5971
dc.source.page	771-773
Orfeo.peerreviewed	Yes
dc.identifier.doi	10.1038/309771a0
dc.identifier.scopus	2-s2.0-0021618415