E region ionization enhancement over northern Scandinavia during the 2002 Leonids

Intensive E-region ionization was observed with the EISCAT UHF radar during the 2002 Leonids meteor shower. The levels of the geomagnetic disturbance were low during the event. Thus the ionization cannot be explained by intensive precipitation. The layer was 30–40 km thick, so it cannot be classified as a sporadic E-layer (often associated to ions of meteoric origin). These are typically only about km-wide. Incoherent scatter radars have never so far reported any notable meteor shower-related increases in the average background ionization. The 2002 Leonid storm flux, however, was so high that it, if any, might be able to induce such an event. Whether meteors in general can cause such an excess E-region ionization during an intensive shower is discussed. The University of Leeds CABMOD model is used to estimate deposition rates of individual meteors and to relate the results to the predicted Leonid flux values in free space and observed ionization on November 19, 2002.