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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH,
VOL. 111,
A12312,
14 PP., 2006
doi:10.1029/2006JA011797
Meteor trail diffusion and fields: 1. Simulations
Center for Space Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Center for Space Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
A meteoroid penetrating the Earth's atmosphere leaves behind a trail of dense plasma embedded in the lower E/upper D region ionosphere. While radar measurements of meteor trail evolution have been collected and used to infer meteor and atmospheric properties since the 1950s, no accurate quantitative model of trail fields and diffusion exists. This paper describes finite element simulations of trail plasma physics applicable to the majority of small meteors. Unlike earlier research, our simulations resolve both the trail and a vast current closure area in the background ionosphere. This paper also summarizes a newly developed analytical theory of meteor electrodynamics and shows that our simulations and theory predict nearly identical fields and diffusion rates. This study should enable meteor and atmospheric researchers to more accurately interpret radar observations of specular and nonspecular meteor echoes.
Received 19 April 2006; accepted 12 October 2006; published 20 December 2006.
Citation: (2006), Meteor trail diffusion and fields: 1. Simulations, J. Geophys. Res., 111, A12312, doi:10.1029/2006JA011797.
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