Mesospheric turbulence measurements from persistent Leonid meteor train observations

Kelley, M. C.; Kruschwitz, Craig; Gardner, Chester S.; Drummond, Jack D.; Kane, Timothy J.

doi:10.1029/2002jd002392

Cited by 20 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The K m ed maximum value is 1×10 3 m 2 /s. This maximum value is comparable to the value deduced from the meteor trail expansion near 95 km (Kelley et al, 2003). The gradient of the eddy diffusion coefficient below the peak is determined by parameters S 1 and S 2 .…”

Section: Analysis Of the Effects Of Turbulencesupporting

confidence: 62%

“…This enhancement can be modulated by fluctuations of the eddy turbulence associated with gravity wave modulation of the Richardson number; this modulation induces the electron density fluctuations. Eddy diffusion coefficient modulation has been observed by Zimmerman and Murphy (1977) and by Kelley et al (2003).…”

Section: Relationship Between Turbulent Transport and Plasma Density mentioning

confidence: 87%

“…However, near the statistical turbopause, at any given time there can be regions of high eddy diffusion above regions with no mixing. This is demonstrated by the appearance of long-lived meteor trails, as presented by Kelley et al (2003). This variability may be associated with the phase of tides or gravity waves propagating through the region, which seems to be the case for the event discussed here.…”

Section: Analysis Of the Effects Of Turbulencementioning

confidence: 89%

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Eddy turbulence parameters inferred from radar observations at Jicamarca

2007

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Abstract. Significant electron density striations, neutral temperatures 27 K above nominal, and intense wind shear were observed in the E-region ionosphere over the Jicamarca Radio Observatory during an unusual event on 26 July 2005 (Hysell et al., 2007). In this paper, these results are used to estimate eddy turbulence parameters and their effects. Models for the thermal balance in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere and the charged particle density in the E region are developed here. The thermal balance model includes eddy conduction and viscous dissipation of turbulent energy as well as cooling by infrared radiation. The production and recombination of ions and electrons in the E region, together with the production and transport of nitric oxide, are included in the plasma density model. Good agreement between the model results and the experimental data is obtained for an eddy diffusion coefficient of about 1×10 3 m 2 /s at its peak, which occurs at an altitude of 107 km. This eddy turbulence results in a local maximum of the temperature in the upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere and could correspond either to an unusually high mesopause or to a double mesosphere. Although complicated by plasma dynamic effects and ongoing controversy, our interpretation of Farley-Buneman wave phase velocity (Hysell et al., 2007) is consistent with a low Brunt-Väisälä frequency in the region of interest. Nitric oxide transport due to eddy diffusion from the lower thermosphere to the mesosphere causes electron density changes in the E region whereas NO density modulation due to irregularities in the eddy diffusion coefficient creates variability in the electron density.

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Section: Analysis Of the Effects Of Turbulencesupporting

confidence: 62%

Section: Relationship Between Turbulent Transport and Plasma Density mentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Analysis Of the Effects Of Turbulencementioning

confidence: 89%

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Eddy turbulence parameters inferred from radar observations at Jicamarca

2007

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“…(2003) results, based on observations of the time evolution of persistent meteor trains (Kelley at al., 2003), shows that eddies with very large scales may occur despite the fact that a very small energy dissipation rate was found. Due to the large scales, the eddy diffusion coefficient inferred from these data does not meet the criterion corresponding to the diffusion equation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, let us estimate the impact of η values on the energy dissipation rate using the l 0 values inferred from the experimental data by Kelley et al (2003). The l 0 values vary from 156 to 222 m and the ε value can change from 0.14 W kg −1 to 0.58 W kg −1 .…”

Section: N Vlasov and M C Kelley: Eddy Diffusion And Similaritymentioning

confidence: 99%

Eddy diffusion coefficients and their upper limits based on application of the similarity theory

Vlasov

Kelley

2015

Ann. Geophys.

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Abstract. The equation for the diffusion velocity in the mesosphere and the lower thermosphere (MLT) includes the terms for molecular and eddy diffusion. These terms are very similar. For the first time, we show that, by using the similarity theory, the same formula can be obtained for the eddy diffusion coefficient as the commonly used formula derived by Weinstock (1981). The latter was obtained by taking, as a basis, the integral function for diffusion derived by Taylor (1921) and the three-dimensional Kolmogorov kinetic energy spectrum. The exact identity of both formulas means that the eddy diffusion and heat transport coefficients used in the equations, both for diffusion and thermal conductivity, must meet a criterion that restricts the outer eddy scale to being much less than the scale height of the atmosphere. This requirement is the same as the requirement that the free path of molecules must be much smaller than the scale height of the atmosphere. A further result of this criterion is that the eddy diffusion coefficients K ed , inferred from measurements of energy dissipation rates, cannot exceed the maximum value of 3.2 × 10 6 cm 2 s −1 for the maximum value of the energy dissipation rate of 2 W kg −1 measured in the mesosphere and the lower thermosphere (MLT). This means that eddy diffusion coefficients larger than the maximum value correspond to eddies with outer scales so large that it is impossible to use these coefficients in eddy diffusion and eddy heat transport equations. The application of this criterion to the different experimental data shows that some reported eddy diffusion coefficients do not meet this criterion. For example, the large values of these coefficients (1 × 10 7 cm 2 s −1 ) estimated in the Turbulent Oxygen Mixing Experiment (TOMEX) do not correspond to this criterion. The K ed values inferred at high latitudes by Lübken (1997) meet this criterion for summer and winter polar data, but the K ed values for summer at low latitudes are larger than the K ed maximum value corresponding to the criterion. Analysis of the experimental data on meteor train observations shows that energy dissipation with a small rate of about 0.2 W kg −1 sometimes can induce turbulence with eddy scales very close to the scale height of the atmosphere. Our results also explain the discrepancy between the large cooling rates calculated by Vlasov and Kelley (2014) and the temperatures given by the MSIS-E-90 model because, in these cases, the measured eddy diffusion coefficients used in calculating the cooling rates are larger than the maximum value presented above.

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Double laminar and turbulent meteor trails observed in space and simulated in the laboratory

2013

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[1] One of nature's most interesting and beautiful sights is meteor trails that are visible to the naked eye. The first published sketches of trails appeared in 1869 after the Leonids storm of 1868. One of the perplexing features of these trails is that very often they are double trails and seldom triple or quadruple, which rules out breaking up or fractioning as a source. The original observations were visual and reproduced in artwork. The photographs used now reveal the accuracy of the original 1868 drawings. Since 1907, scientific explanations have ruled out physical breakup as a source. The long-standing explanation by Trowbridge (1907) has also been ruled out using modern cameras, and several new explanations have been proposed. Here we modify the explanation by Zinn and Drummond (2005), who modeled the event as an explosion followed by buoyancy, and instead, explain the effect by showing that the trails are severely convectively unstable, leading to the vortices proposed by these authors. This idea is supported by lidar-based measurements of the temperature gradient in the trail. We also show laboratory experiments that are remarkably similar to the meteor trails in appearance, although we argue that buoyancy is not the effect in the natural case.

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Mesospheric turbulence measurements from persistent Leonid meteor train observations

Cited by 20 publications

References 16 publications

Eddy turbulence parameters inferred from radar observations at Jicamarca

Eddy turbulence parameters inferred from radar observations at Jicamarca

Eddy diffusion coefficients and their upper limits based on application of the similarity theory

Double laminar and turbulent meteor trails observed in space and simulated in the laboratory

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