Geophysical observations during the flight of the Chelyabinsk meteoroid

Abstract

Abstract The paper describes the effects of the passage of the Chelyabinsk meteoroid (which exploded on 15 February 2013 over the Chelyabinsk Region), which were established from geophysical data from West Siberian stations. The trajectory and speed of the meteoric body from the start of the glow to the breakup were recorded by surveillance cameras and dashcams. Records from broadband seismic stations were used to determine the exact time of the explosion (03:20:34 UTC) from the arrival times of the surface wave produced by this event. The explosion energy was estimated from the surface-wave amplitudes at ~100 kilotons on the assumption that the wave originated from a point source similar to a high-altitude thermonuclear explosion. A database of records from seismic stations obtained during the meteoroid passage has been compiled.