EGU24-14537, updated on 09 Mar 2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-14537
EGU General Assembly 2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Should we worry about the massive increase of satellite reentry debris in the polar regions?

Linda Megner
Linda Megner
  • Stockholm University, Meteorology, Stockholm, Sweden (linda@misu.su.se)

During space reentry, satellites undergo ablation in the Mesosphere, leading to the dispersion of ablated material across the globe. The Mesospheric circulation efficiently concentrates this material into the polar winter stratosphere, from where its fate is not well known. Historically, the mass of satellite debris has been significantly smaller than that of naturally occurring meteoroids. The meteoric material also undergoes ablation and deposit similar material, which is transported to the poles and can be observed in Greenland ice cores. With the current exponential increase in the number of launched satellites, the mass of the satellite debris will go from negligible to surpassing the mass of natural meteoric material within the next few years. Here, the quantity and composition of material to be expected in the polar stratosphere the coming years are presented. The question is raised: What potential impacts will the drastic increase of satellite debris have on the polar atmosphere/cryosphere?

How to cite: Megner, L.: Should we worry about the massive increase of satellite reentry debris in the polar regions?, EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-14537, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-14537, 2024.