About This Project

I am studying Aeronomy and in particular Noctilucent Clouds to further understand how they're an indicator of changes in the upper atmosphere and whether these are linked with Climate Change. I will be using a high altitude balloon to study these as they form in the Upper Atmosphere, the Mesosphere which is 76km - 85km above Earth. Noctilucent Clouds are only observable during the summer months at Earths polar regions making them Earth's rarest clouds.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Earths atmosphere is a reflection of what is happening on Earth as any changes are noted in the atmosphere directly making our atmosphere a great place to study life on Earth. The fact that Noctilucent Clouds are becoming more common means there are significant changes happening within our atmosphere and we need to further understand these, as noted in several research papers. Noctilucent Clouds have been studied and observed for years through satellite and even Astronauts observation from the ISS but more observations and studies are needed to see their link to climate change. Research papers such as the following give an indication of these impacts.

On the Anthropogenic Impact on Long-Term Evolution
of Noctilucent Clouds: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary....

What is the significance of this project?

First of all, we aren't entirely sure when these clouds first appeared though it has been noted that these were first observed after the eruption of Krakatoa. There has been little research on Noctilucent Clouds yet the study that has been done indicates their presence is a direct result of methane convecting upwards into the atmosphere. We just don't know enough about these yet but their presence alone is worth investigating further.

What are the goals of the project?

There are two main goals of this project. The first is to successfully capture images of Noctilucent Clouds using a high altitude balloon and the second is to create a repeatable way to observe Noctilucent Clouds using high altitude balloons so that this research can repeated yearly. It is hoped that by having a repeatable way to observe these clouds that Citizen Scientists can participate and help gather more data towards understanding this phenomenon.