For decades, satellites passing over Earth's north and south poles have experienced a flow of ions from the upper atmosphere into space. Dubbed the 'polar wind', the source of this flow had eluded ...

Scientists sampling the upper atmosphere have found metal elements in aerosol particles they say are from thousands of rocket boosters and satellites that have re-entered from space.

The scientists are interested in the effect a sudden drop in sunlight can have on our own upper atmosphere, or ionosphere, that extends from 90 to 500 kilometres into space.

The findings surprised lead author Ben Santer and co-author Susan Solomon, who did not expect to find such a clear human signal in the upper atmosphere so early in the climate record. “It was ...

Lidar (light detection and ranging) has emerged as an indispensable tool for probing the upper atmosphere, offering high-resolution profiles of temperature, wind, and chemical species. Advances in ...

The ambipolar field results from solar particles bombarding the upper atmosphere. There, they strike atoms like oxygen and hydrogen, causing them to eject an electron to become ionized.

The findings surprised lead author Ben Santer and co-author Susan Solomon, who did not expect to find such a clear human signal in the upper atmosphere so early in the climate record. “It was ...