Infrasound and seismic detections associated with the 7 September 2015 Bangkok fireball

Abstract

A bright fireball was reported at 01:43:35 UTC on September 7, 2015 at a height of ∼ 30 km above 14.5∘N, 98.9∘E near Bangkok, Thailand. It had a TNT yield equivalent of 3.9 kilotons (kt), making it the largest fireball detected in South–East Asia since the ∼ 50 kt 2009 Sumatra bolide. Infrasonic signals were observed at four infrasound arrays that are part of the International Monitoring System (IMS) and one infrasound array located in Singapore. Acoustic bearings and event origin times inferred from array processing are consistent with the eyewitness accounts. A seismic signal associated with this event was also likely recorded at station SRDT, in Thailand. An acoustic energy equivalent of 1.15 ± 0.24 kt is derived from the Singaporean acoustic data using the period of the peak energy.