Causes of fluctuations of the effective linear electron density of meteor traces.

Structural functions developed for fluctuations of linear electron density values detected in the ionization curves of meteor trails are analyzed to determine which of two factors is the more likely cause of the fluctuations. The two factors are meteor fragmentation and fluctuations of atmospheric parameters. The analysis shows that fluctuations of the atmospheric density will lead to corresponding fluctuations of the linear electron density in the ionized trails. Data involving pulsational wind velocity and pulsations of the ambipolar diffusion coefficient confirm the existence of this correspondence. The results do not exclude effects caused by meteor fragmentation or other nonatmospheric effects but only indicate that fluctuations of atmospheric parameters are a more important cause of fluctuations of linear electron density values.