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Using the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) to Study Very Low Frequency Transmission in the Earth‐Ionosphere Waveguide: 1. Comparison With a Full‐Wave Model
Author(s) -
Jacobson Abram R.,
Holzworth Robert H.,
Brundell James B.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
radio science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1944-799X
pISSN - 0048-6604
DOI - 10.1029/2021rs007293
Subject(s) - amplitude , ionosphere , lightning (connector) , waveguide , transmission (telecommunications) , reflection (computer programming) , earth–ionosphere waveguide , storm , geology , very low frequency , acoustics , remote sensing , telecommunications , computer science , physics , meteorology , power (physics) , optics , geophysics , ionospheric heater , quantum mechanics , programming language
We investigate a novel way to quantify Very Low Frequency transmission in the Earth‐Ionosphere Waveguide, using data from the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN). The lightning signals from intense and long‐duration storm clusters are recorded at several stations. Any individual stroke amplitude is in principle unknown, so that the recorded electric field from that stroke varies semi‐randomly from the recorded field due to other strokes from that storm cluster. Thus, it is not possible to straightforwardly infer the channel characteristics from a stroke recorded at a single station. However, if two stations record the signal from the same stroke, then the inter‐station ratio of the recorded amplitude on the two fixed propagation paths is (in the absence of noise) independent of source power. We develop a procedure to provide information on time‐variations in the waveguide transmission, using an approach based on ratios of amplitudes from pair of stations which record the same strokes. These amplitude‐ratio data are then compared to an existing model of full‐wave Very Low Frequency reflection from the underside of the ionosphere.