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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 35, L03102, doi:10.1029/2007GL032347, 2008

Day to night variation in meteor trail measurements: Evidence for a new theory of plasma trail evolution

Meers M. Oppenheim

Center for Space Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA


Glenn Sugar

Center for Space Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA


Elizabeth Bass

Center for Space Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA


Yakov S. Dimant

Center for Space Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA


Jorge Chau

Jicamarca Radio Observatory, Lima, Peru


Abstract

A recent theory of meteor trail plasma diffusion made the prediction that meteors will generate more and longer lasting non-specular echoes at night than during the day. This letter presents the first evidence of a dramatic day to night difference in non-specular meteor trail occurrence rates and their duration. These observations were made by the 50MHz radar at the Jicamarca Radio Observatory (JRO) in Peru. In one 20 minute period starting 95 minutes before sunrise, this radar detected 1288 head echoes and 341 trails while a similar time after dawn, it measured 1240 head echoes but only 50 trails. Also, the duration of the nighttime trails greatly exceeded the daytime ones. This pattern was confirmed by a second experiment in July 2007. This data provides strong evidence that it is necessary to account for the effect of the ionospheric plasma density to explain meteor diffusion.

Received 16 October 2007; accepted 2 January 2008; published 6 February 2008.

Keywords: meteor; plasma; radar.

Index Terms: 2442 Ionosphere: Meteor-trail physics; 2439 Ionosphere: Ionospheric irregularities; 2427 Ionosphere: Ionosphere/atmosphere interactions (0335); 6952 Radio Science: Radar atmospheric physics (1220).

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Citation: Oppenheim, M. M., G. Sugar, E. Bass, Y. S. Dimant, and J. Chau (2008), Day to night variation in meteor trail measurements: Evidence for a new theory of plasma trail evolution, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L03102, doi:10.1029/2007GL032347.