Investigations of the response of the midlatitude lower ionosphere to meteor showers

Experimental data show quasi-periodic changes in the relative amplitudes A_o and A_x of the ordinary and extraordinary components respectively of the partially reflected wave, apparently due to the passage of infrasonic waves during the periods of maximum inflow of meteoric dust particles into the lower ionospheric plasma. An occasional increase in the electron density by more than (50...100)% compared with a quiet-time reference values over an interval of minutes to tens of minutes is also established to occur in the nighttime midlatitude ionospheric D-region above 80-km altitudes. This might be due to charging and dynamics of the dust particles.