Mesospheric dust and its secondary effects as observed by the ESPRIT payload

Abstract. The dust detector on the ESPRIT rocket detected two extended dust/aerosol layers during the launch on 1 July 2006. The lower layer at height∼81.5–83 km coincided with a strong NLC and PMSE layer. The maximum dust charge density was ∼−3.5×109 e m−3 and the dust layer was char-acterized by a few strong dust layers where the dust charge density at the upper edges changed by factors 2–3 over a dis-tance of.10 m, while the same change at their lower edges were much more gradual. The upper edge of this layer is also sharp, with a change in the probe current from zero to IDC=−10−11 A over ∼10 m, while the same change at the low edge occurs over ∼500 m. The second dust layer at ∼85–92 km was in the height range of a comparatively weak PMSE layer and the maximum dust charge density was ∼−108 e m−3. This demonstrates that PMSE can be forme