Meteor induced chemistry, ablation products, and dust in the middle and upper atmosphere from optical spectroscopy of meteors Original Research Article

The recent intense Leonid meteor storms have seen a rejuvenation of optical meteor studies, including the first application of cooled CCD technologies and the first large-scale use of intensified slit-less video spectrographs. The Leonid Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign has provided a wealth of diverse new data. This paper is an initial attempt to ask what the myriad of Leonid observations have taught us, by bringing the observations and early modeling efforts together, and by presenting a `grand visionʹ of the interaction of fast meteoroids with the atmosphere. An overview is given of the physical conditions in meteors, their products, and their influence on the Earthʹs atmosphere.