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Article
Determination of the Global-Average Charge Moment of a Lightning Flash Using Schumann Resonances and the LIS/OTD Lightning Data
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
  • Robert Boldi, Zayed University
  • Earle Williams, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Anirban Guha, Tripura University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-16-2018
Abstract

©2017. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. In this paper, we use (1) the 20 year record of Schumann resonance (SR) signals measured at West Greenwich Rhode Island, USA, (2) the 19 year Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS)/Optical Transient Detector (OTD) lightning data, and (3) the normal mode equations for a uniform cavity model to quantify the relationship between the observed Schumann resonance modal intensity and the global-average vertical charge moment change M (C km) per lightning flash. This work, by integrating SR measurements with satellite-based optical measurements of global flash rate, accomplishes this quantification for the first time. To do this, we first fit the intensity spectra of the observed SR signals to an eight-mode, three parameter per mode, (symmetric) Lorentzian line shape model. Next, using the LIS/OTD lightning data and the normal mode equations for a uniform cavity model, we computed the expected climatological-daily-average intensity spectra. We then regressed the observed modal intensity values against the expected modal intensity values to find the best fit value of the global-average vertical charge moment change of a lightning flash (M) to be 41 C km per flash with a 99% confidence interval of ±3.9 C km per flash, independent of mode. Mode independence argues that the model adequately captured the modal intensity, the most important fit parameter herein considered. We also tested this relationship for the presence of residual modal intensity at zero lightning flashes per second and found no evidence that modal intensity is significantly different than zero at zero lightning flashes per second, setting an upper limit to the amount of nonlightning contributions to the observed modal intensity.

Publisher
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Keywords
  • Earth-ionosphere cavity,
  • global lightning,
  • modeling,
  • normal mode equations,
  • Schumann resonances
Scopus ID
85040199832
Indexed in Scopus
Yes
Open Access
Yes
Open Access Type
Bronze: This publication is openly available on the publisher’s website but without an open license
https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD027050
Citation Information
Robert Boldi, Earle Williams and Anirban Guha. "Determination of the Global-Average Charge Moment of a Lightning Flash Using Schumann Resonances and the LIS/OTD Lightning Data" Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres Vol. 123 Iss. 1 (2018) p. 108 - 123 ISSN: <a href="https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/id/publication/issn/2169-897X" target="_blank">2169-897X</a>
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/robert-boldi/7/