Geomagnetic Field Disturbances from the Fall of the Lipetsk (June 21, 2018) and Chelyabinsk (February 15, 2013) Meteorites

Abstract

Based on the Chelyabinsk (February 13, 2013) and Lipetsk (June 21, 2018) events, disturbances in the Earth’s geomagnetic field, which were induced by the fall of these meteorites, were studied. Based on the data provided by geomagnetic observatories of the INTERMAGNET network and the mid-latitude Mikhnevo geophysical observatory (IGD RAS), it was established that the fall of meteorites through the Earth’s atmosphere, in general, induces geomagnetic disturbances of up to 5 nT at distances up to 2700 km from the impact point of a cosmic body; the maximum effect is reached with a delay time ranging from ~5 to ~10 min, and the duration of the period of the induced geomagnetic field disturbances varies from ~5 to ~20 min. The estimation dependencies of the amplitude and duration of induced geomagnetic disturbances from a distance from the meteorite impact points are proposed.