SuaveMofo t1_iw0x7ft wrote
Reply to comment by Felaguin in Climate change is extending the lifetime of space debris. A new study found that the density of the thermosphere will decrease by 30-35% at an altitude of 250 miles over the next few decades. That loss of drag would increase the lifetime of space debris in LEO by 30% compared to 2000. by clayt6
There is overwhelming evidence that the climate of the upper atmosphere is changing. While the troposphere shows a global warming trend, the middle and upper atmosphere (stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere) have been cooling (e.g., Cnossen, 2012; Laštovička et al., 2006). This cooling results in thermal contraction, resulting in a lowering of ionospheric layers (Bremer et al., 2012; Rishbeth & Roble, 1992) and a reduction in thermosphere density at fixed height (Emmert, 2015; Keating et al., 2000; Weng et al., 2020). The increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration is thought to be the main driver of the global mean cooling and contraction of the upper atmosphere (e.g., Laštovička et al., 2006), with other trace gases playing a relatively minor role (Qian et al., 2013)
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