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A Curated Dataset Bridging Luminous and Infrasound Observations of Regional Meteor Events

Session: Asteroid Observations, Return Missions, and Meteoritics: Interweaving Perspectives and Data (Posters)

Presenting Author:

Andrea Thompson

Authors:

Thompson, Andrea¹, Brown, Emerson², Sawal, Vedant³, Silber, Elizabeth⁴, Brown, Peter G.⁵

(1) Geology, Central New Mexico Community College, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA; Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, (2) Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA; Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, (3) Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, (4) Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, (5) Western University, London, Ontario, Canada,

Abstract:

Each day, numerous meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere at hypersonic velocities, undergoing extreme frictional heating and ablation. These interactions produce luminous phenomena known as meteors, often accompanied by shock waves that generate low-frequency acoustic energy or infrasound (<20 Hz). Infrasound monitoring offers a valuable method for detecting and characterizing meteors, particularly in conditions where optical observations are limited (e.g., nighttime, cloudy skies, or remote regions). However, only a small fraction of optically recorded meteors has been confidently linked with infrasound detections. Between 2006 and 2011, a high-fidelity dataset of 71 meteor events was collected using the Southern Ontario Meteor Network (SOMN) all-sky camera network and the Elginfield Infrasound Array (ELFO) at Western University located in London, Ontario, Canada. This dataset remains the most comprehensive collection of simultaneously co-observed meteor events to date. Although previously analyzed in several studies, the complete set of raw data has not been publicly released. Therefore, we present a carefully curated and fully accessible dataset integrating all raw luminous, acoustic, and atmospheric measurements associated with these events. This resource is intended to support advancements in meteor detection systems, meteor trajectory reconstruction algorithms, and atmospheric propagation modeling. Furthermore, it provides an empirical foundation for studying the physical link between luminous and acoustic emissions during atmospheric entry, facilitating improved interpretation of both global monitoring data and local sensor networks.

SNL is managed and operated by NTESS under DOE NNSA contract DE-NA0003525.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025