rocketsocks t1_iw18zkm 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
The greenhouse effect as caused by atmospheric CO2 and methane traps heat like a blanket within the lower atmosphere. This has the adverse effect of causing cooling of the upper atmosphere, including the thermosphere which reaches into low Earth orbit. A cooler thermosphere reduces drag on satellites.
Solar activity results in a higher level of especially UV light which puffs out the outer atmosphere during solar max, but this is an external input not a change in how heat is distributed within the atmosphere which is what is going on with the greenhouse effect and climate change.
These details are all in the article, which I'm sure you read but forgot.
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