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Estimation of global lightning activity and observations of atmospheric electric field

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Abstract

Variations in the global atmospheric electric circuit are investigated using a wide range of globally spaced instruments observing VLF (∼10 kHz) waves, ELF (∼300 Hz) waves, Schumann resonances (4–60 Hz), and the atmospheric fair weather electric field. For the ELF/VLF observations, propagation effects are accounted for in a novel approach using established monthly averages of lightning location provided by the Lightning Image Sensor (LIS) and applying known frequency specific attenuation parameters for daytime/nighttime ELF/VLF propagation. Schumann resonances are analyzed using decomposition into propagating and standing waves in the Earth-ionosphere waveguide. Derived lightning activity is compared to existing global lightning detection networks and fair weather field observations. The results suggest that characteristics of lightning discharges vary by region and may have diverse effects upon the ionospheric potential.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA

    Marek Gołkowski

  2. Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa, Poland

    Marek Kubicki

  3. Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Morris Cohen & Umran S. Inan

  4. Astronomical Observatory, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland

    Andrzej Kułak

  5. Department of Electronics, Academy of Mining and Metallurgy, Kraków, Poland

    Andrzej Kułak

  6. Department of Electrical Engineering, Koç University Sariyer, Istanbul, Turkey

    Umran S. Inan

Authors
  1. Marek Gołkowski
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  2. Marek Kubicki
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  3. Morris Cohen
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  4. Andrzej Kułak
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  5. Umran S. Inan
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Correspondence to Marek Kubicki.

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Gołkowski, M., Kubicki, M., Cohen, M. et al. Estimation of global lightning activity and observations of atmospheric electric field. Acta Geophys. 59, 183–204 (2011). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11600-010-0035-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11600-010-0035-4

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