Removal of Meteoric Iron on Polar Mesospheric Clouds

Polar mesospheric clouds are thin layers of nanometer-sized ice particles that occur at altitudes between 82 and 87 kilometers in the high-latitude summer mesosphere. These clouds overlap in altitude with the layer of iron (Fe) atoms that is produced by the ablation of meteoroids entering the atmosp...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Plane, John M. C., Murray, Benjamin J., Chu, Xinzhao, Gardner, Chester S.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2004
Subjects:
South Pole
South pole
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1093236
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1093236
Description
Summary:Polar mesospheric clouds are thin layers of nanometer-sized ice particles that occur at altitudes between 82 and 87 kilometers in the high-latitude summer mesosphere. These clouds overlap in altitude with the layer of iron (Fe) atoms that is produced by the ablation of meteoroids entering the atmosphere. Simultaneous observations of the Fe layer and the clouds, made by lidar during midsummer at the South Pole, demonstrate that essentially complete removal of Fe atoms can occur inside the clouds. Laboratory experiments and atmospheric modeling show that this phenomenon is explained by the efficient uptake of Fe on the ice particle surface.

Similar Items