Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 26, 2026

Metal-silicate Partitioning at High Pressure and Temperature: Experimental Methods and a Protocol to Suppress Highly Siderophile Element Inclusions
Published on: June 13, 2015
Removal of meteoric iron on polar mesospheric clouds
John M C Plane1, Benjamin J Murray, Xinzhao Chu
1School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK. j.plane@uea.ac.uk
Abstract:
Polar mesospheric clouds are thin layers of nanometer-sized ice particles that occur at altitudes between 82 and 87 kilometers in the high-latitude summer mesosphere. These clouds overlap in altitude with the layer of iron (Fe) atoms that is produced by the ablation of meteoroids entering the atmosphere. Simultaneous observations of the Fe layer and the clouds, made by lidar during midsummer at the South Pole, demonstrate that essentially complete removal of Fe atoms can occur inside the clouds. Laboratory experiments and atmospheric modeling show that this phenomenon is explained by the efficient uptake of Fe on the ice particle surface.
Related Concept Videos
Classifying Matter by Composition
According to its composition, the matter can be classified into two broad categories — pure substances and mixtures.
A pure substance is a form of matter that has a constant composition throughout with uniform properties. For example, any sample of sucrose has the same composition and same physical properties, such as melting point, color, and sweetness, regardless of the source from which it is isolated.
A mixture is composed of two or more types of...
Precipitation of Ions
The equation that describes the equilibrium between solid calcium carbonate and its solvated ions is:
Types of Coprecipitation
Sometimes, ions in a crystal lattice can undergo isomorphous replacement by inclusions of similar charge and size. For...
Washing, Drying, and Ignition of Precipitates
Precipitation and Co-precipitation
Microbes and Other Elemental Cycles

