Fed by decay meteoroid and settle 50 miles above ground , Antarctica ’s icy blue noctilucent cloud have made their yearly appearance over the frozen continent . scientist say these strange clouds are arriving sooner than usual , and greenhouse gas pedal are the potential perpetrator .
Noctilucent , or “ night - shining , ” clouds are Earth ’s highest clouds , located in an upper layer of our major planet ’s standard atmosphere called the mesosphere . These cloud are comprised chiefly of ice crystals , which beam a hopeful , magnificent blue when they mull sunlight .
It ’s currently summer in Antarctica , which means it ’s noctilucent cloud season . These clouds shape when the mesosphere is most humid , as water vaporization face-lift up from scurvy altitudes . It ’s also the meter of year , as wintertime ends , when the mesosphere is the coldest blank space on the planet , featuring temperatures as low as -210 degrees Fahrenheit ( -135 grade Celsius ) .
This year , NASA scientist marked the start of noctilucent cloud season on November 17 , 2016 — which ties the earliest get-go date on track record . In the past , these clouds sometimes did n’t seem until as belatedly as mid - December . Over the last few ten and twelvemonth , noctilucent cloud have become bright and they ’re starting to diffuse nearer to the equator . Some scientists say this is the result of the glasshouse natural gas methane .
When methane reaches the upper ambience , it ’s oxidate by a series of chemic response that forge H2O vapor . This excess water vapor freezes , make ice crystals that organise the noctilucent clouds . Scientists say noctilucent clouds are a “ stoolie in a coalmine ” for methane , a specially nasty nursery gas that contribute to climate variety .
[ NASA Goddard ]
AntarcticaClimate changeScience
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