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  • Presentation | SA13C: Heavy Metal Ionosphere: Cranking up the Volume on Space Rock and Human Tech Infusion Poster
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  • SA13C-1940: From Meteoroids to Space Emissions: The Lithium Story in the Mesosphere
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  • Board 1940‚ Hall EFG (Poster Hall)
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Author(s):
Michael Gerding, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock (First Author, Presenting Author)
Robin Wing, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock
Gerd Baumgarten, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock
Wuhu Feng, University of Leeds
Josef Höffner, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock
Jens Mielich, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock
Yanmichel A. Morfa Avalos, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock
John Plane, University of Leeds
Toralf Renkwitz, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock
Leonard Schulz, Technische Universität Braunschweig
Claudia Stephan, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock
Claudia Stolle, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock
Juan Miguel Urco, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock
Yosuke Yamazaki, Leibniz Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Rostock


When satellites and rocket parts re-enter the Earth's atmosphere, they will release a lot of metal into the upper atmosphere, called the mesosphere. To study this, we are using a special device called a lidar to measure the amount of lithium in the mesosphere at a location in Germany. Lithium is a metal that is used a lot in the space industry, but it has also a natural source in meteoroids, dust from space that burns up in the atmosphere. Our measurements showed that the amount of lithium in the mesosphere changes with the seasons, with more lithium present in the winter months. We used a computer model to simulate our findings, and it matched our observations. This suggests that the changes in lithium levels are due to natural seasonal changes in the atmosphere.


One interesting event occurred in February 2025, when we detected a large amount of lithium in the mesosphere. We were able to track the air mass that contained the lithium back to a location in Ireland, where a rocket part had re-entered the atmosphere. This is a good test case to study the burn-up process of satellites and rockets in the upper atmosphere.




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