Unchecked Carbon Dioxide Is Shrinking Earth’s Upper Atmosphere
A team of environmental scientists, atmospheric chemists, and space physicists analyzed data from NASA’s Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) mission, which launched in 2001. The TIMED satellite’s Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument has been gathering insights on atmospheric infrared radiation, or heat, since just a year after launch. These nearly two decades of insights are what the researchers used to assess how building CO2 levels have impacted the atmosphere over time.
According to the dual studies they published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, the researchers found that Earth’s upper atmosphere is indeed contracting—something scientists have suspected for a while, but that’s been difficult to confirm. In the lower atmosphere, CO2 absorbs and re-emits heat in all directions, creating a warming effect. But in the upper atmosphere, CO2 is allowed to escape into space, resulting in a gradual cooldown instead. This cooling effect causes not only the stratosphere to contract but also the mesosphere and thermosphere (together referred to as the MLT).
The MLT contracted by 1,333 meters in just under 20 years. The researchers estimate that approximately 342 of those were a direct result of CO2 cooling. MLT cooling negatively correlates with atmospheric drag; as the MLT grows colder, atmospheric drag drops. Given atmospheric drag is essential to ships’ and satellites’ ability to deorbit, unabated carbon buildup could end up impacting future (or even current long-term) missions. This includes the increasingly necessary task of removing space debris.
The team believes CO2-related MLT cooling could affect the larger aerospace industry sooner than we think. “As long as carbon dioxide increases at about the same rate, we can expect these rates of temperature change to stay about constant too,” they write. “It seems likely that ongoing changes in space climate will become important issues in space law, space policy, and in the business of underwriting insurance for endeavors in space.”
Continue reading
MIT Develops New Method of Generating Power With Carbon Nanotubes
By grinding up nanotubes and dipping them in special solvents, the team showed it's possible to generate enough current to run important electrochemical reactions, and maybe one day to power super-small devices.
EVGA Unveils Outrageous Open Air PC with Carbon Fiber Chassis
EVGA's latest concept gaming rig is adorned with carbon fiber and blacked-out finishes, all suspended in a unique carbon fiber frame.
Two Birds, One Stone: Researchers Turn Plastic into Carbon Capture Material
The researchers took hard-to-recycle plastic and turned it into a material that can soak up excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It's not a magic bullet, but it could be a step in the right direction.
Intel Aims to Achieve Net Zero Carbon Emissions By 2040
In a statement Wednesday, the company reaffirmed its intent to reduce its environmental impact and develop a more sustainable operations strategy.