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Latitudinal dependence of the variability of the micrometeor altitude distribution
Author(s) -
Sparks J. J.,
Janches D.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2009gl038485
Subject(s) - thermosphere , altitude (triangle) , aeronomy , atmospheric sciences , meteor (satellite) , latitude , mesosphere , effects of high altitude on humans , environmental science , middle latitudes , climatology , geology , ionosphere , meteorology , stratosphere , physics , geophysics , geometry , mathematics , geodesy
We present a study of the diurnal behavior of the observed meteor altitude distribution at different seasons and latitudes. The meteor altitude distribution provides an indication of where the meteoric mass deposition occurs in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT). This can be utilized to model the input of metallic constituents into the MLT and accurately understand the chemistry of this region. We show that the observed altitude distributions have distinct variability at each location: at high latitudes there is a weak diurnal and strong seasonal variability while at tropical latitudes the opposite behavior is observed. We explain these results by correlating them with the astronomical and physical properties of the meteoric flux. Finally, we discussed the potential influences that these results have on the metal chemistry and aeronomy of this atmospheric region.