Friendica Social Network

Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange:

1 week ago • •

Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange:
1 week ago • •

Adding up to 360 metric tons of aluminium oxide per year to the atmosphere due to disposing of mega-constellation (Starlink etc) satellites might create ozone depletion amongst other as of yet unknown effects. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024GL109280

Potential Ozone Depletion From Satellite Demise During
Atmospheric Reentry in the Era of Mega‐Constellations
José P. Ferreira1 , Ziyu Huang1 , Ken‐ichi Nomura2 , and Joseph Wang1
1Department of Astronautical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 2Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Abstract Large constellations of small satellites will significantly increase the number of objects orbiting the Earth. Satellites burn up at the end of service life during reentry, generating aluminum oxides as the main byproduct. These are known catalysts for chlorine activation that depletes ozone in the stratosphere. We present the first atomic‐scale molecular dynamics simulation study to resolve the oxidation process of the satellite's aluminum structure during mesospheric reentry, and investigate the ozone depletion potential from aluminum oxides. We find that the demise of a typical 250‐kg satellite can generate around 30 kg of aluminum oxide nanoparticles, which may endure for decades in the atmosphere. Aluminum oxide compounds generated by the entire population of satellites reentering the atmosphere in 2022 are estimated at around 17 metric tons. Reentry scenarios involving mega‐constellations point to over 360 metric tons of aluminum oxide compounds per year, which can lead to significant ozone depletion.

This entry was edited (1 week ago)

in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange:

FediThing 🏳️‍🌈

in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange: • 1 week ago • •

Hey @JohnBarentine and @sundogplanets did you know Starlink etc might be threatening ozone layer too? 😦

in reply to FediThing 🏳️‍🌈

Prof. Sam Lawler

in reply to FediThing 🏳️‍🌈 • 1 week ago • •

@FediThing @JohnBarentine I did know about the possibility, I am very happy that atmospheric chemistry experts wrote a paper on it!

@Dr. John Barentine FRAS @FediThing 🏳️‍🌈

in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange:

Albert Cardona

in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷:krulorange: • 1 week ago • •

"If you don't know how to fix it, please, stop breaking it!" – Severn Cullis-Suzuki's speech to the United Nations, 1992.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGdS8ts63Ck

#EcosystemCollapse #GlobalWarming #ClimateChange

Listen to the Children - Severn Cullis-Suzuki's famous speech on the environment (1992)

From the UN Audiovisual Library: Severn Cullis-Suzuki, delivers her famous speech at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).Wat...

^YouTube

#ClimateChange #globalwarming #ecosystemcollapse

This entry was edited (1 week ago)

⇧