Global Change in the Upper Atmosphere

Details Global Change in the Upper Atmosphere Global Change in the Upper Atmosphere

Dec 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufmsa24a..05q&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #SA24A-05

Other

[0350] Atmospheric Composition And Structure / Pressure, Density, And Temperature, [0358] Atmospheric Composition And Structure / Thermosphere: Energy Deposition, [1630] Global Change / Impacts Of Global Change, [3305] Atmospheric Processes / Climate Change And Variability

Scientific paper

Anthropogenic increases of greenhouse gases warm the troposphere but have a cooling effect in the middle and upper atmosphere. The steady increase of CO2 is the dominant cause of upper atmosphere trends. Long-term changes of other radiatively active trace gases such as CH4, O3, and H2O, long-term changes of geomagnetic and solar activity, and other possible drivers also play a role. Observational and model studies have confirmed that in the past several decades, global cooling has occurred in the mesosphere and thermosphere; the cooling and contraction of the upper atmosphere has lowered the ionosphere, increased electron density in the lower ionosphere, but slightly decreased electron density in the upper ionosphere. Limited observations have suggested long-term changes in the occurrence rate of major stratospheric warming, mesosphere and lower thermosphere dynamics, wave activities and turbulence in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, and occurrence of noctilucent clouds or polar mesospheric clouds. However, possible long-term changes of these parameters remain to be open questions due to lack of measurements. We will review recent progress in observations and simulations of global change in the upper atmosphere, and discuss future investigations with a focus on how measurements by commercial reusable suborbital vehicles can help resolve the open questions.

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