Contribution of meteor flux in the occurrence of sporadic-E (Es) layers over the Arabian Peninsula

Abstract

A sporadic-E (Es) layer is generally associated with a thin-layered structure present in the lower ionosphere, mostly consisting of metallic ions. This metallic ion layer is formed when meteors burn in the upper atmosphere, resulting in the deposition of free metal atoms and ions. Many studies have attributed the presence of the Es layer to the metallic ion layer, specifically when the layer is observed during the nighttime. Using data from a network of meteor monitoring towers and a collocated digital ionosonde radar near the Arabian Peninsula, in this paper, we report our observations of Es layer occurrences together with the meteor count. The trend of monthly averages of Es layer intensity shows a maximum in late spring and early summer months and a minimum in winter months, whereas the meteor counts were highest in winter months and lowest in spring and early summer months. This shows that the presence of the Es layer and the meteor counts have no correlation in time, both diurnally and seasonally. This leads us to conclude that the presence of meteors is not the main cause of the presence of the Es layer over the Arabian Peninsula.