Multiparameter Constraints on Empirical Infrasound Period-Yield Relations for Bolides and Implications for Planetary Defense

Silber, Elizabeth A.; Trigo-Rodríguez, Josep M.; Oseghae, Iyare; Peña-Asensio, Eloy; Boslough, Mark; Whitaker, Rodney; Pilger, Christoph; Lubin, Philip; Sawal, Vedant; Hetzer, Claus; Longenbaugh, Randy; Jenniskens, Peter; Bailey, Brin; Mas Sanz, Esther; Hupe, Patrick; Cohen, Alexander N.; Edwards, Thom R.; Egan, Sasha; Silber, Reynold E.; Czarnowski, Summer C.; Giannone, Miro Ronac

doi:10.3847/1538-3881/add47d

Multiparameter Constraints on Empirical Infrasound Period-Yield Relations for Bolides and Implications for Planetary Defense

Journal Article · Thu Jun 19 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · The Astronomical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/add47d· OSTI ID:2583879

^[1]; ^[2]; ^[3]; ^[4]; ^[5]; Whitaker, Rodney ^[6]; ^[7]; ^[8]; ^[1]; ^[9]; Longenbaugh, Randy ^[1]; ^[10]; ^[8]; ^[11]; ^[7]; ^[8]; Edwards, Thom R. ^[1]; ^[12]; ^[13]; ^[14] more »

Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Institute of Space Sciences (ICE-CSIC/IEEC), Catalonia (Spain)
University of Texas at San Antonio, TX (United States)
Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi), Lombardia (Italy)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), Hannover (Germany)
University of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
University of Mississippi, MS (United States)
SETI Institute, CA (United States)
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zürich (Switzerland)
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM (United States)
Northern New Mexico College, Española, NM (United States)
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND (United States)

How effective are methods for estimating bolide energies from infrasound signal period-yield relationships? A single global period–energy relation can obscure significant variability introduced by parameters such as the atmospheric Doppler wind profile and the bolide’s energy deposition profile as a function of altitude. Bolide speed, entry angle, burst altitude, and multiepisode fragmentation may all play a role in defining the detected period of the shockwave. By leveraging bolide light-curve data from the Center for Near Earth Object Studies, we re-examined the period–energy relation as a function of these parameters. Through a bootstrap approach, we show that various event subsets can deviate from widely cited period–energy models and we identify which specific conditions most strongly reshape the period–energy scaling. The results define both the fidelity and reliability of period–energy relations when no additional data beyond the infrasound record is available and improve the outcome when supporting data from bolide trajectories and light curves are included. Ultimately, these findings expand the scope of earlier models, providing a nuanced and robust framework for infrasound-only yield estimation under a range of bolide scenarios.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); National Science Foundation (NSF); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0003525

OSTI ID:: 2583879

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2585603

Journal Information:: The Astronomical Journal, Journal Name: The Astronomical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 170; ISSN 0004-6256; ISSN 1538-3881

Publisher:: IOP PublishingCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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