Concentrations of ozone-damaging aluminum oxides in Earth's atmosphere could increase by 650% in the coming decades due to a rise in the number of defunct satellites burning up during reentry, a first-of-a-kind study has found. And, as satellite megaconstellations continue to pique the interests of private companies, this could be pretty bad news for our planet's protective shield known as the ozone layer.
If all those plans come to fruition, up to 3,200 metric tons of satellite bodies could be burning up in the atmosphere every year by the 2030s. As a result, 630 metric tons of aluminum oxides could be released into the upper atmosphere per year, the researchers estimated, leading to an up to 650% increase in the concentrations of those particles compared to natural levels.
Unlike the traditional ozone-depleting substances, aluminum oxide particles trigger ozone destruction processes without getting consumed in the reactions, the researchers said. The concentrations of these substances therefore remain stable, allowing the oxides totheir harmful work, until they naturally descend to lower altitudes below the ozone layer. That may, however, also take up to 30 years, Wang said.
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