[P-EM12] Coupling Processes in the Atmosphere-Ionosphere System

[PEM12-22] On the relationship between the mesospheric sodium layer and the meteoric input function

*Tai-Yin Huang², Yanlin Li¹, Julio Urbina¹, Fabio Vargas³, Wuhu Feng⁴ (1.The Pennsylvania State University, Electrical Engineering, USA, 2.The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Physics, Penn State Lehigh Valley, USA, 3.University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, USA, 4.University of Leeds, School of Earth and Environment, Leeds, UK)

Keywords:sodium, airglow, lidar, numerical modeling

The sodium layer in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region has been used as a tracer to study the dynamics in that region. It is well known that the sodium is originated from meteoroid mass deposits produced by its ablation. Understanding the correlation between the meteoroid material input and the concentration of the sodium layer is essential for many investigations in this space. This work aims to examine the relationship between the sodium and the Meteoric Input Function (MIF). We have used the lidar measurements from the Colorado State University (CSU) Lidar and from the Andes Lidar Observatory (ALO) along with our newly developed numerical model for such an investigation. Our simulation results have revealed that the uptake of the sodium species by the meteoric smoke particles would be a critical factor in determining the sodium concentration in the MLT, with the sodium removal rate by uptake to be approximately three times the removal rate by the NaHCO₃ dimerization process. Our findings provide valuable information on the correlation between MIF and sodium concentration in the MLT region, contributing to a better understanding of the complex dynamics in this region.