Sunday, December 4, 2011

Speedier Satellites

An artist's impression of a GPS satellite.

Credit: NASA
A primary cause of a warmer planet's carbon dioxide emissions is having effects that reach into space with a bizarre twist. Air in the atmosphere's outermost layer is very thin, but air molecules still create drag that slows down satellites, requiring engineers to periodically boost them back into their proper orbits. But the amount of carbon dioxide up there is increasing. And while carbon dioxide molecules in the lower atmosphere release energy as heat when they collide, thereby warming the air, the sparser molecules in the upper atmosphere collide less frequently and tend to radiate their energy away, cooling the air around them. With more carbon dioxide up there, more cooling occurs, causing the air to settle. So the atmosphere is less dense and creates less drag. end quote from:
http://www.livescience.com/11350-top-10-surprising-results-global-warming.html


So, if I'm understanding this correctly, the satellites are speeding up because the increased carbon dioxide at the top of the atmosphere touching space causes the top atmosphere to cool which causes carbon dioxide or CO2 to drop which causes the satellites to speed up. My question would be "If carbon dioxide drops does it then heat up as it drops deeper into the atmosphere. Also, at what speed does the carbon dioxide drop and is this also one of many factors in increased winds in the upper atmosphere and does that translate into higher and more erratic winds on earth as well?"

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