This is also the title of a well-established science meeting which we hosted at IAP on 18–22 September 2017. Special issues from former LPMR meetings were mainly published in JASTP, but for various reasons we prefer ACP this time. The special issue arises from the LPMR meeting, but it should be open for all submissions within its scope. The main science topics covered during the LPMR meeting are as follows: 1. Mesospheric phenomena and related sciences, including noctilucent clouds (NLCs), polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs), and polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSEs). Measurements of these ice layers and related parameters by modern technologies such as lidars, radars, imagers, interferometers, spectrometers, rocket-borne sensors, and satellite-borne instruments, e.g. on AIM. 2. Long-term trends and solar-cycle-induced variations of layered phenomena and the role of these ice layers in the study of climate change in the middle atmosphere. 3. Neutral and ionized metal layers of meteoric origin and related parameters such as cosmic dust, meteors, meteoroids, meteorites, and ablation physics. 4. The physics and application of airglow to study the thermal and dynamical structure in the mesopause region. 5. Using layered phenomena in the mesopause region as tracers to study gravity waves and turbulence. 6. Related atmospheric phenomena such as ionospheric layers and dynamic coupling between atmospheric layers.