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Antarctic mesospheric clouds formed from space shuttle exhaust
Author(s) -
Stevens Michael H.,
Meier R. R.,
Chu Xinzhao,
DeLand Matthew T.,
Plane John M. C.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2005gl023054
Subject(s) - space shuttle , environmental science , astrobiology , mesosphere , meteorology , atmospheric sciences , geology , physics , astronomy , stratosphere
New satellite observations reveal lower thermospheric transport of a space shuttle exhaust plume into the southern hemisphere two days after a January, 2003 launch. A day later, ground‐based lidar observations in Antarctica identify iron ablated from the shuttle's main engines. Additional satellite observations of polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs) show a burst that constitutes 10–20% of the PMC mass between 65–79°S during the 2002–2003 season, comparable to previous results for an Arctic shuttle plume. This shows that shuttle exhaust can be an important global source of both PMC formation and variability.