Cosmic dust and metal layers: Study of Ni in the upper atmosphere
Abstract
The major source of metals in the upper atmosphere is the the 40 tonnes of interplanetary dust that enters each day from space. This gives rise to the layers of metal atoms and ions that occur globally in the upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere (MLT) region between about 75 and 120 km. Metal species in the upper atmosphere offer a unique way of observing this region and of testing the accuracy of climate models in the domain. The overarching objective of this project will be to explore the MLT chemistry of two elements - Ni and Al with the focus of this poster solely on Ni. These elements have not been previously studied in this region of the atmosphere with the exception of the first Ni layer measurements by Professor Richard Collins in 2012. This research presents the attempted lidar observations of Ni in the MLT at the Liebniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Germany. The lidar observations were performed at the Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Germany, in collaboration with Dr. Michael Gerding and Dr. Josef Hoffner. The observations will also be compared with model simulations from the Whole Atmospheric Community Climate Model (WACCM).
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFMSA31C3447D
- Keywords:
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- 0305 Aerosols and particles;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0340 Middle atmosphere: composition and chemistry;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 3303 Balanced dynamical models;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSESDE: 3332 Mesospheric dynamics;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES