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Attenuation of lightning‐produced sferics in the Earth‐ionosphere waveguide and low‐latitude ionosphere
Author(s) -
Burkholder Brian S.,
Hutchins Michael L.,
McCarthy Michael P.,
Pfaff Robert F.,
Holzworth Robert H.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: space physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9402
pISSN - 2169-9380
DOI - 10.1002/jgra.50351
Subject(s) - ionosphere , earth–ionosphere waveguide , whistler , attenuation , lightning (connector) , atmospherics , waveguide , radio propagation , geophysics , international reference ionosphere , very low frequency , geology , ionospheric heater , remote sensing , physics , meteorology , tec , telecommunications , total electron content , computer science , optics , magnetic field , power (physics) , quantum mechanics
We compare radio atmospherics (sferics) detected by the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) to very low frequency (VLF) whistler waves observed in the low‐latitude ionosphere by the Vector Electric Field Instrument of the Communications/Navigation Outage Forecasting System (C/NOFS) satellite. We also model the propagation of these sferics through the Earth‐ionosphere waveguide to the subsatellite point using the Long‐Wavelength Propagation Capability software and compare this result to the same C/NOFS data set. This unprecedentedly expansive data set allows comparison to theory and prior observation of VLF radio wave propagation in the Earth‐ionosphere waveguide and low‐latitude ionosphere. We show that WWLLN and C/NOFS observe the well‐known effect of variable attenuation with direction within the Earth‐ionosphere waveguide. Propagation within the ionosphere is also examined, and a lack of attenuation above 400 km is observed. Finally, in comparison to recent works using Detection of Electro‐Magnetic Emissions Transmitted from Earthquake Regions (DEMETER) data by Fiser et al. and Chum et al., we find that C/NOFS successfully detects whistlers with comparable amplitudes at much greater distances, compared to those reported for DEMETER.