Century‐scale effect of climate change on meteorite falls

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Auteurs principaux: Eloy Peña‐Asensio, Denis Vida, Ingrid Cnossen, Esteban Ferrer
Format: Artículo Open Access
Publié: Wiley 2025
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author Eloy Peña‐Asensio
Denis Vida
Ingrid Cnossen
Esteban Ferrer
author_facet Eloy Peña‐Asensio
Denis Vida
Ingrid Cnossen
Esteban Ferrer
Eloy Peña‐Asensio
Denis Vida
Ingrid Cnossen
Esteban Ferrer
collection Wiley Open Access
contents Century‐scale effect of climate change on meteorite falls Eloy Peña‐Asensio Denis Vida Ingrid Cnossen Esteban Ferrer Meteoritics & Planetary Science Abstract Climate change is inducing a global atmospheric contraction above the tropopause (~10 km), leading to systematic decrease in neutral air density. The impact of climate change on small meteoroids has already been observed over the last two decades, with documented shifts in their ablation altitudes in the mesosphere (~50–85 km) and lower thermosphere (~85–120 km). This study evaluates the potential effect of these changes on meteorite‐dropping fireballs, which typically penetrate the stratosphere (~10–50 km). As a case study, we simulate the atmospheric entry of the fragile Winchcombe carbonaceous chondrite under projected atmospheric conditions for the year 2100 assuming a moderate future emission scenario. Using a semi‐empirical fragmentation and ablation model, we compare the meteoroid's light curve and deceleration under present and future atmospheric density profiles. The results indicate a modest variation of the ablation heights, with the catastrophic fragmentation occurring 300 m lower and the luminous flight terminating 190 m higher. The absolute magnitude peak remains unchanged, but the fireball would appear 0.5 dimmer above ~120 km. The surviving meteorite mass is reduced by only 0.1 g. Our findings indicate that century‐scale variations in atmospheric density caused by climate change moderately influence bright fireballs and have a minimal impact on meteorite survival. 10.1111/maps.70046 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
doi_str_mv 10.1111/maps.70046
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id wiley_oa_10_1111_maps_70046
institution Wiley Open Access
license_str_mv http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
publishDate 2025
publisher Wiley
record_format wiley_oa
spellingShingle Century‐scale effect of climate change on meteorite falls
Eloy Peña‐Asensio
Denis Vida
Ingrid Cnossen
Esteban Ferrer
Meteoritics & Planetary Science
Century‐scale effect of climate change on meteorite falls Eloy Peña‐Asensio Denis Vida Ingrid Cnossen Esteban Ferrer Meteoritics & Planetary Science Abstract Climate change is inducing a global atmospheric contraction above the tropopause (~10 km), leading to systematic decrease in neutral air density. The impact of climate change on small meteoroids has already been observed over the last two decades, with documented shifts in their ablation altitudes in the mesosphere (~50–85 km) and lower thermosphere (~85–120 km). This study evaluates the potential effect of these changes on meteorite‐dropping fireballs, which typically penetrate the stratosphere (~10–50 km). As a case study, we simulate the atmospheric entry of the fragile Winchcombe carbonaceous chondrite under projected atmospheric conditions for the year 2100 assuming a moderate future emission scenario. Using a semi‐empirical fragmentation and ablation model, we compare the meteoroid's light curve and deceleration under present and future atmospheric density profiles. The results indicate a modest variation of the ablation heights, with the catastrophic fragmentation occurring 300 m lower and the luminous flight terminating 190 m higher. The absolute magnitude peak remains unchanged, but the fireball would appear 0.5 dimmer above ~120 km. The surviving meteorite mass is reduced by only 0.1 g. Our findings indicate that century‐scale variations in atmospheric density caused by climate change moderately influence bright fireballs and have a minimal impact on meteorite survival. 10.1111/maps.70046 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Century‐scale effect of climate change on meteorite falls
topic Meteoritics & Planetary Science
url https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maps.70046