Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Space environment; 3. Transport equations; 4. Collisions; 5. Simplified transport equations; 6. Wave phenomena; 7. Magnetohydrodynamic formulation; 8. Chemical processes; 9. Ionization and energy exchange processes; 10. Neutral atmospheres; 11. The terrestrial ionosphere at middle and low latitudes; 12. The terrestrial ionosphere at high latitudes; 13. Planetary ionospheres; 14. Ionospheric measurement techniques; Appendix A. Physical constants and conversions; Appendix B. Vector relations and operators; Appendix C. Integrals and transformations; Appendix D. Functions and series expansions; Appendix E. System of units; Appendix F. Maxwell transfer equations; Appendix G. Collision models; Appendix H. Maxwell velocity distribution; Appendix I. Semilinear expressions for transport coefficients; Appendix J. Solar fluxes and relevant cross sections; Appendix K. Atmospheric models; Appendix L. Scalars, vectors, dyadics and tensors; Appendix M. Radio wave spectrum; Appendix N. Simple derivation of continuity equation; Appendix O. Numerical solution for F-region ionisation; Index.

Promotional Information

Describes the physical, plasma and chemical processes controlling ionospheres, upper atmospheres and exospheres, for researchers and graduates.

About the Author

Robert Schunk is Professor of Physics and the Director of the Center for Atmospheric and Space Sciences at Utah State University. He is also a co-founder and the President of Space Environment Corporation, a small high-tech company in Logan, Utah. He has over thirty-five years of experience in theory, numerical modeling, and data analysis in the general areas of plasma physics, fluid mechanics, kinetics, space physics, and planetary ionospheres and atmospheres. He has been a Principal Investigator on numerous NASA, NSF, Air Force and Navy grants and has chaired many national committees, international organizations and review panels. Professor Schunk received the D. Wynne Thorne Research Award from Utah State University in 1983, the Governor's Medal for Science and Technology from the State of Utah in 1988, gave the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Nicolet Lecture in 2002, is a Fellow of the AGU, and was inducted into the International Academy of Astronautics in 2006. Andrew Nagy has been on the faculty of the University of Michigan since 1963, serving as a professor of Space Science and Electrical Engineering, Associate Vice President for Research (1987–90), and Director of the Space Physics Research Laboratory (1990–2). He has over forty years of experience in both theoretical and experimental studies of the upper atmospheres, ionospheres and magnetospheres of the Earth and planets, and has been principal and co-investigator and interdisciplinary scientist on a variety of space missions. Professor Nagy has chaired or been a member of over forty national and international committees and boards. He was President of the Space Physics and Aeronomy Section of the American Geophysical Union. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, a member of the International Academy of Astronautics, has given the AGU Nicolet Lecture (1998), and received the NASA Public Service Medal (1983) and the Attwood (1998) and the Distinguished Faculty Achievement Awards (2003) from the University of Michigan. Andrew Nagy is also the recipient of the 2015 John Adam Fleming Medal from the American Geophysical Union.

Reviews

'This excellent book's utility as both a graduate-level textbook and reference book for active researchers fills a much-needed niche in presenting the expansive topic of ionospheric physics and chemistry.' EOS