High altitude dispersion

High altitude dispersal of spores an experimental approach. XVI... 

Mustard-Lewisite mixture is a liquid mixture of distilled mustard (HD) and Lewisite. Due to its low freezing point, the mixture remains a liquid in cold weather and at high altitudes its low freezing point make it better for ground dispersal and aerial spraying. The mixture with the lowest freezing point consists of 63 percent Lewisite and 37 percent mustard. 

A recent concrete development is the dispersion of metals and compounds at high altitude(80—100 km and more). While 1 cubic kilometer of air at atmospheric pressure weighs 1 million tons, the same volume at 150 km altitude weighs no more than 2 kg In such a rarefied medium, a metal vapor such as sodium dispersed from a rocket will create a large brilliant yellow train visible at twilight, useful for the study of ionospheric wind and of temperature. The sodium release has been performed by the heat from 8 kg of thermite evaporating (at a temperature of 900 C) 2 kg of sodium powder mixed with the thermite. Oxidation of the sodium takes place slowly. 

The explosive dispersion of aluminum or the release of trimethyl aluminum at high altitude leads to formation of the lower oxide AlO that emits a blue glow useful for temperature measurements. Other studies with different goals involve the release of ammonia or nitric oxide. The subject is lucidly treated, with individual references, in an article by Rosenberg, ... 

In Chapter 19, it was indicated that the dispersion of alkali metals at high altitudes is a new tool in space exploration. Instead of merely evaporating the metals by pyrochemical heat sources, one might think of producing them by chemical reaction and dispersing the resulting metal vapors in the rarefied atmosphere. 

In particular cases, the releases might happen in an explosive way and be projected, therefore, to a great height. This happened in the Chernobyl accident. In this case the dispersion in the environment would occur under the influence of the high altitude air currents and by diffusion (to distances up... 

Ambient conditions such as heat, and thus the time of day in which an agent is released, are critical elements in deployment. If released at a high altitude, agent particles may not be able to reach sufficient concentrations to inflict casualties. Humidity can also affect dispersal some CW agent particles, absorbing moisture from the air, become too heavy and fall harmlessly on the ground, while rain can wash the air and even neutralize by hydrolysis (albeit slowly) many CW agents. 

When the actual temperature-decline-with-altitude is greater than 9.8°C/1000 m, the atmosphere is unstable, the Cj s become larger, and the concentrations of poUutants lower. As the lapse rate becomes smaUer, the dispersive capacity of the atmosphere declines and reaches a minimum when the lapse rate becomes positive. At that point, a temperature inversion exists. Temperature inversions form every evening in most places. However, these inversions are usuaUy destroyed the next morning as the sun heats the earth s surface. Most episodes of high poUutant concentrations are associated with multiday inversions. 

Of even more recent interest are flares or rocket grain ingredients that are apt to produce a large number of ions from the exposure of alkali metal to high temperature. Presence of alkali metal additives in rocket exhaust at 3000 K is said to cause in excess of ICP ions/cm , and from mixtures of aluminum with the nitrates of cesium or ptotass him, electron densities of the order of 10 /cm have been reported. " Shidlovsky quotes from Reference 250 that a cesium plasma may be obtained frc n a mixture of aluminum and cesium perchlorate. The sutqect of the direct dispersion of alkali metals and other substances at Wgh altitude will be discussed in the concluding passages to Chapter 19. 

An inversion occurs when air temperature increases with altitude. Temperature inversions (extreme cases of atmospheric stability) create a virtual lid on the upward movement of atmospheric pollution. This situation occurs frequently but is generally confined to a relatively shallow layer. Plumes emitted into air layers that are experiencing an inversion (inverted layer) do not disperse very much as they are transported with the wind. Plumes that are emitted above or below an inverted layer do not penetrate that layer rather, these plumes are trapped either above or below that inverted layer. High concentrations of air pollufants are often associated with inversions, as they inhibit plume dispersions. Two types of inversions are important from an air quality standpoint radiation and subsidence inversions. 

Huge deposits of sodium nitrate (NaNOs) were discovered in 1821 by Mariano Eduardo de Rivero, a Spanish (Peruvian) naturalist and chemist, in the coastal province of Tarapaca. Subsequent exploration showed that these deposits exist in widely dispersed nitrate beds (salitreras) extending for more than 700 km from about 18°30 S in Pampa de Tarapaca to 27° S in Pampa de Tactal (fig. 3.2). This whole territory is an extremely arid plateau (rain once in 3-4, or even 8-10, years) situated between the western slopes of the high Cordillera de Los Andes and the Pacific Coastal Range at altitudes of between 1 and 4 km above the sea level, and at distances of about... 

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