Vol. 23, issue 11, article # 4

Abstract:

The problem of the aerosol formation in upper atmosphere is considered. Meteoroids of mass range 10^-18ё10^-8 g are taken as a source of the aerosol origin. Basing on classical equations of deceleration and heating of small meteor bodies we have determined the maximal temperatures of the particles and altitudes at which they reach critically low velocities, i.e. altitudes of "stop". The condition of non-reaching the melting temperature by a particle is used as the condition of particle transformation into aerosol component. Basing on a cumulative distribution over masses of space matter onto earth and results of radar meteor observations, the three-dimensional probability density of the number of such particles has been plotted as a function of the following parameters being critical for reaching the melting temperature by a particle: initial mass, velocity and angle of entrance into the atmosphere. It is shown that stone particles with initial masses less than ~1.7Ч10¹⁴ g become the aerosols independently of other parameters. Using transformation of the plotted distribution in accordance with meteor physics equations we have derived two-dimensional distribution over mass and altitude of cosmic aerosol formation.

Keywords:

meteoroids, cosmic matter, atmosphere aerosol