ABSTRACT
Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) are transient gamma-ray emissions from thunderstorms, generated by electrons accelerated to relativistic energies in electric fields. Elves are ultraviolet and optical emissions excited in the lower ionosphere by electromagnetic waves radiated from lightning current pulses. We observed a TGF and an associated elve using the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor on the International Space Station. The TGF occurred at the onset of a lightning current pulse that generated an elve, in the early stage of a lightning flash. Our measurements suggest that the current onset is fast and has a high amplitude-a prerequisite for elves-and that the TGF is generated in the electric fields associated with the lightning leader.
ABSTRACT
A detailed analysis of Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) terrestrial gamma ray flashes (TGFs) is performed in association with World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) sources and very low frequency (VLF) sferics recorded at Duke University. RHESSI clock offset is evaluated and found to experience changes on the 5 August 2005 and 21 October 2013, based on the analysis of TGF-WWLLN matches. The clock offsets were found for all three periods of observations with standard deviations less than 100 µs. This result opens the possibility for the precise comparative analyses of RHESSI TGFs with the other types of data (WWLLN, radio measurements, etc.) In case of multiple-peak TGFs, WWLLN detections are observed to be simultaneous with the last TGF peak for all 16 cases of multipeak RHESSI TGFs simultaneous with WWLLN sources. VLF magnetic field sferics were recorded for two of these 16 events at Duke University. These radio measurements also attribute VLF sferics to the second peak of the double TGFs, exhibiting no detectable radio emission during the first TGF peak. Possible scenarios explaining these observations are proposed. Double (multipeak) TGFs could help to distinguish between the VLF radio emission radiated by the recoil currents in the +IC leader channel and the VLF emission from the TGF producing electrons.
