Ionospheric disturbances initiated by impact of the Chelyabinsk meteoroid
Abstract
It has been demonstrated, that impact of the Chelyabinsk meteoroid on the 15th of February, 2013 caused oscillations of critical plasma frequency of the F2 layer of ionosphere (foF2), but there were no detectable variations of the Earth's magnetic field. Also on tomograms of ionosphere, obtained by GPS stations located along 40 th meridian, wave-like disturbances of electron density at heights 200-700 km have been observed. As followed from ionosondes' measurements foF2 oscillations have been detected tens minutes after a main burst in Irkutsk, Norilsk, Yakutsk and then in Moscow and Europe. This time sequence of beginning of the oscillations could be explained by hypothesis that a source lied on the trajectory of the meteoroid far from Chelyabinsk. Post-impact ballistic plume outgoing to the rarefied layers of the atmosphere and then falling back on the dense layers provides the disturbance transmission in a time of tens minutes at a distance of 1500-2000 km. By numerical modeling a possibility for the plume to be formed has been shown. Also modeling of oscillations in F2-layer initiated by the falling plume has been fulfilled. Calculated amplitudes of density variations are in a good agreement with observable ones. Geomagnetic disturbances generated by the impact have been estimated. They appeared to be too small to be detected by nearby stations.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFMNH23D1552K
- Keywords:
-
- 2435 IONOSPHERE Ionospheric disturbances;
- 4313 NATURAL HAZARDS Extreme events