Exploring High‐Energy Phenomena in Earth's Atmosphere

The study of high‐energy phenomena in the atmosphere provides unique information about particle acceleration and multiplication in the lower and upper atmosphere during thunderstorms. Generation and propagation of large fluxes of electrons, positrons, gamma rays, and neutrons in the atmosphere and in near space are related to the development of thunderstorms and may be used for monitoring dangerous consequences of extreme weather. Electromagnetic emissions connected with thunderstorms trigger various dynamic processes in the Earth's magnetosphere, causing global geomagnetic storms and changing electrodynamics properties of the ionosphere. The large fluences of energetic electrons, photons, and neutrons produced by runaway electron avalanches can potentially be a danger to aircraft crews, passengers, and onboard electronic systems.