Abstract
Here is the first report on the observation of meteor ablation trails with lidar in China. Four long-lived Na ablation trails were observed during the 18/19 Nov. 2001 Leonid meteor shower with a sodium resonance lidar over Wuhan. The mean altitude of the 4 trails is 97.95 km, consistent with Leonid high entry velocity (∼72 km/s). The peak density averages about 3380±3633 cm−3, and the abundance is (2.33 ±1.49) ×108 cm−2, both of which are higher than those previously observed for sporadic meteor trails. The RMS width is 359 m and the meteor’s age is 81 min, indicating that they are long duration meteor trails. These observation results are quite different from those of sporadic meteor trails, but comparable to the 1998 and 1999 Leonid report. Five night observations from 17 Nov. to 23 Nov. suggest that the 2001 Leonid meteor shower does not have a significant impact on the abundance of the background Na layer.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Clemesha, B. R., Sporadic neutral metal layers in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Physics, 1995, 57(7): 725–736.
Yi, F., Zhang, S. D., Zeng, H. J. et al., Lidar observation of sporadic Na layers over Wuhan (30.5°N, 114.4°E), Geophysical Research Letters, 2002, 29(9): 59-1–59-4.
Asher, D. J., Leonid dust trail theories, Proc. International Meteor Conference, Frasso Sabino, 1999 (ed. Arlt, R.), International Meteor Organization, 2000, 5–21.
Chu, X., Pan, W., Papen, G. et al., Characteristics of Fe ablation trails observed during the 1998 leonid meteor shower, Geophysical Research Letters, 2000, 27(13): 1807–1810.
Grime, B. W., Kane, T. J., Collins, S. C. et al., Meteor trail advection and dispersion: Preliminary lidar observations, Geophysical Research Letters, 1999, 26: 675–678.
Kane, T. J., Gardner, C. S., Lidar observation of the meteoric deposition of mesospheric metals, Science, 1993, 259: 1297–1300.
Hoffner, J. U., von Zahn, U., McNeil, W. J. et al., The 1996 Leonid shower as studied with a potassium lidar: Observations and inferred meteoroid sizes, Journal of Geophysics Research, 1999, 104: 2633–2643.
Chu, X., Kelley, M., Durmmond, J. et al., Lidar observations of elevated temperatures in bright chemiluminescent meteor trails during the 1998, Geophysical Research Letters, 2000, 27(13): 1815–1818.
Grime, B. W., Liu, A. Z., Drummond, J. et al., Meteor trail advection observed during the 1998 Leonid shower, Geophysical Research Letters, 2000, 27(13): 1819–1822.
Helmer, M. J., Plane, M. C., Qian, J. et al., A model of meteoric iron in the upper atmosphere, Journal of Geophysics Research, 1998, 103: 10913–10926.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, J., Yi, F. Sodium resonance lidar observations during 2001 Leonid meteor shower over Wuhan. Chin.Sci.Bull. 49, 303–306 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03182816
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03182816