A new study shows that human-generated greenhouse gas emissions shrink Earth’s stratosphere.
The study, which was conducted by a group of international researchers, is published in the journal Environmental Research Letter It is estimated that the Stratosphere, a layer of the atmosphere that stretches from about 12 to 30 miles above Earth’s surface, has shrunk by about 0.25 miles since the 1980s.
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Over the next six decades, researchers estimate that the atmosphere will shrink about a further 0.8 miles unless there is a major reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Scientists discovered decades ago that greenhouse gas emissions had caused the troposphere – the lowest layer in the atmosphere where humans and the weather live – to warm and expand, pushing up the lower stratosphere. When carbon dioxide enters the stratosphere, it cools the air and causes it to contract.
The stratosphere begins just above the troposphere and contains a layer of ozone which absorbs and scatters the sun’s ultraviolet radiation.
Experts fear that the shrinkage of the stratosphere will adversely affect satellite operations around the world.
“This can affect satellite paths, orbital life times, and retrieval processes, and indirectly affect electron density in the ionosphere, radio wave propagation, and ultimately on the overall performance of the Global Positioning System (GBS) and other space navigation systems,” That The study’s authors wrote.
This research is the latest example of how greenhouse gas emissions are changing the planet. A study was released Last month it was discovered that melting glaciers due to global warming has caused a shift in the Earth’s rotation axis since the 1990s.
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