Ionosonde observations of ionospheric disturbances due to the 15
February 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor explosion
Abstract
We report the results of our investigations on ionospheric effects
potentially caused by the 15 February 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor explosion.
We used the observation data from a number of digisonde stations located
in Europe and Russia to detect the traveling ionospheric disturbances
(TIDs) likely to have been caused by the meteor explosion. We found that
certain characteristic signatures of the TIDs can be identified in
individual ionogram records, mostly in the form of Y‐forking/splitting
of the ionogram traces. Based on the arrival times of the disturbances,
we have inferred the overall propagation speed of the TIDs from
Chelyabinsk to be 171 ± 14 m/s. In addition to the natural fulfillment
of scientific endeavors, this work also highlights the importance of
maintaining the mastery of ionosondes as ionospheric diagnostic
instruments (in terms of operation, data analysis, representation, and
interpretation) for many generations of space researchers to come.