[meteorite-list] AGU Journal Highlights - November 17, 2004

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Nov 17 17:36:46 2004
Message-ID: <200411172236.OAA05158_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-11/agu-ajh111704.php

Public release date: 17-Nov-2004

Contact: Harvey Leifert
hleifert_at_agu.org
1-202-777-7507
American Geophysical Union

AGU journal highlights - 17 November 2004

Highlights, including authors and their institutions

The following highlights summarize research papers in Geophysical
Research Letters (GL). The papers related to these Highlights are
printed in the next paper issue of the journal following their
electronic publication.

You may read the scientific abstract for any of these papers by going to
http://www.agu.org/pubs/search_options.shtml and inserting into the
search engine the portion of the doi following 10.1029/ (e.g.,
2004GL987654). The doi is found at the end of each Highlight, below. To
obtain the full text of the research paper, see Part II.

*****

[snip]


5. Analyzing meteors over Antarctica

Results from a meteor radar system recently installed at the South Pole
indicate that most meteoric activity occurs during the Antarctic summer
around a very concentrated region of the sky. Janches et al. present
observations from a very high frequency radar system designed to study
upper atmospheric winds and analyze the day-night and seasonal
variability of meteoric activity over the South Pole.

Although such meteor flux has been monitored and studied at low- and
mid-latitudes, the difficulty in placing and operating equipment in
extreme geographical locations has inhibited study over the Antarctic.
Their findings agree with observations from the Arctic region of
sporadic meteor activity, which deposits extraterrestrial material in
both poles. The authors suggest that the radar information can provide
data on the frequency, mass and size of falling meteors, which will help
them understand the origin of the space particles and other atmospheric
phenomena in the polar regions.

Title: Diurnal and seasonal variability of the meteoric flux at the
South Pole measured with radars

Authors: Diego Janches, E. M. Lau, S. K. Avery, J. P. Avery, S. de la
Pena, Cooperative Institute of Research in Environmental Sciences,
University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA;
S. E. Palo, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA;
N. A. Makarov, Institute for Experimental Meteorology, Scientific
Production Association, Obninsk, Russia.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters (GL) paper 10.1029/2004GL021104, 2004

-------------------

6. Finding the source moons for Saturn's outer ring

An analysis of dust particles in Saturn's E-ring may allow researchers
to learn more about some of the planet's moons that created its famous
bands. Juhasz and Horanyi created a three-dimensional model that
followed the trajectories of a large number of particles in Saturn's
outermost E-ring and captured seasonal variations in the particles'
density and distribution. Their theoretical estimates matched previous
remote observations and will be used to analyze the Cassini spacecraft
measurements as the NASA/ESA mission repeatedly passes through Saturn's
E-ring. The authors point out that data from Cassini's Cosmic Dust
Analyzer instrument will identify the moon of origin of the particles by
measuring their size and speed. The instrument will also be able to
measure the chemical composition of the particles, which combined with
other remote observations, will allow scientists to identify the surface
properties of the moons where the grains originated.

Title: Seasonal variations in Saturn's E-ring

Authors: Antal Juhasz, KFKI Research Institute for Particles and Nuclear
Physics, Budapest, Hungary;
Mihaly Horanyi, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters (GL) paper 10.1029/2004GL020999, 2004

[snip]

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Received on Wed 17 Nov 2004 05:36:41 PM PST