Cross-Validation of Infrasound Detections and Fireball Observations from the Global Fireball Observatory
Abstract
How do infrasound signals from fireballs relate to atmospheric entry conditions and the physical properties of their parents meteoroids? In this study, we investigate the detectability of infrasound generated by local-to-regional fireballs and use the associated signals to constrain meteoroid physical properties. Across Western Australia and California, the Global Fireball Observatory (GFO) recorded nearly 300 fireball events with well-constrained trajectories within 500 km of an infrasound array over an 11-year period. Of these, 20 fireballs were confidently associated with infrasound detections. For these events, we estimate energies, constrain source altitudes using atmospheric ray-tracing simulations, and investigate source mechanisms using a multi-diagnostic approach. In particular, we examine whether the recorded infrasonic signals originated from cylindrical line sources (ballistic shocks) or discrete fragmentation episodes. Our results show that infrasound-detected fireballs span a broad range of dynamical and physical properties. This variability indicates that infrasound detectability is governed by a combination of source characteristics, atmospheric propagation conditions, and source-receiver geometry, rather than any single entry parameter. Analysis of the fireball shock source mechanisms reveals an even contribution from both ballistic and fragmentation-related sources. These results also demonstrate the value of combining infrasound and optical observations for robust constraints on meteoroid shock generation processes.
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BibTeX
@misc{clemente2026crossvalidation,
title = {{Cross-Validation of Infrasound Detections and Fireball Observations from the Global Fireball Observatory}},
author = {Iona Clemente and Eleanor K. Sansom and Hadrien A. R. Devillepoix and Elizabeth A. Silber and Svetlana B. Nikolova and Spiro Spiliopoulos and Peter Jenniskens and Jim Albers and Thomas Herring},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.30936},
eprint = {2610.30936},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.30936},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Cross-Validation of Infrasound Detections and Fireball Observations from the Global Fireball Observatory
AU - Iona Clemente
AU - Eleanor K. Sansom
AU - Hadrien A. R. Devillepoix
AU - Elizabeth A. Silber
AU - Svetlana B. Nikolova
AU - Spiro Spiliopoulos
AU - Peter Jenniskens
AU - Jim Albers
AU - Thomas Herring
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.30936
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.30936
AB - How do infrasound signals from fireballs relate to atmospheric entry conditions and the physical properties of their parents meteoroids? In this study, we investigate the detectability of infrasound generated by local-to-regional fireballs and use the associated signals to constrain meteoroid physical properties. Across Western Australia and California, the Global Fireball Observatory (GFO) recorded nearly 300 fireball events with well-constrained trajectories within 500 km of an infrasound array over an 11-year period. Of these, 20 fireballs were confidently associated with infrasound detections. For these events, we estimate energies, constrain source altitudes using atmospheric ray-tracing simulations, and investigate source mechanisms using a multi-diagnostic approach. In particular, we examine whether the recorded infrasonic signals originated from cylindrical line sources (ballistic shocks) or discrete fragmentation episodes. Our results show that infrasound-detected fireballs span a broad range of dynamical and physical properties. This variability indicates that infrasound detectability is governed by a combination of source characteristics, atmospheric propagation conditions, and source-receiver geometry, rather than any single entry parameter. Analysis of the fireball shock source mechanisms reveals an even contribution from both ballistic and fragmentation-related sources. These results also demonstrate the value of combining infrasound and optical observations for robust constraints on meteoroid shock generation processes.
ER -