Mon, Dec 18, 2006
It's The Global Warming, Man
Scientists report carbon
dioxide emissions from fossil fuels are helping to keep orbiting
spacecraft airborne longer, by reducing atmospheric drag.
There's no such thing as a free lunch, though... for the same
effect also increases the threat that space junk poses to
satellites.
Stanley Solomon, a senior scientist at the National Center for
Atmospheric Research, presented his group's results at an American
Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco earlier this month.
The air density of the outer atmosphere was reduced about five
percent over the past 30 years, according to Solomon's computer
model estimates. That figure could decrease 40% by the end of the
century, he added.
Solomon noted that a less dense atmosphere should not be a
problem in the near-term, but could be a significant issue in the
future, especially with the increase of space junk left from space
missions, old satellites, and other space debris left circling the
earth.
"In the long haul, it means we have to be even more assiduous
about not letting miscellaneous pieces of metal float about,"
Solomon said.
Additionally, forecasts of outer atmosphere density could help
NASA and other agencies plan the fuel needs and timing of satellite
launches.
Solomon's conclusions mirror prior research predicting similar
effects.
The hypothesis that carbon dioxide emissions would affect the
thermosphere was advanced in 1989 by Robert Dickinson and others,
and the change in density was recently measured by analyzing
changes in satellite orbits.
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