Transient Luminous Events in the Lower Part of the Atmosphere Originated in the Peripheral Regions of a Thunderstorm

We present and discuss transient luminous events (TLEs) in the lower atmosphere, observed during large disturbances of the near-surface electric fields (NSEF) and coinciding with large enhancements of the particle fluxes (thunderstorm ground enhancements—TGEs). Despite large distances from the stron...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Universe (Basel) 2022-08, Vol.8 (8), p.412
Main Authors: Chilingarian, Ashot, Hovsepyan, Gagik, Karapetyan, Tigran, Sargsyan, Balabek, Svechnikova, Ekaterina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmosphere
Cameras
Charged particles
Correlation analysis
Cosmic rays
Electric fields
energy spectrum
Environmental aspects
Gamma rays
Light
Lightning
NSEF
Nuclear power plants
Observations
Physics
Precipitation
RREA
Sensors
TGE
thunderstorm
Thunderstorms
Time series
TLE
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Summary:We present and discuss transient luminous events (TLEs) in the lower atmosphere, observed during large disturbances of the near-surface electric fields (NSEF) and coinciding with large enhancements of the particle fluxes (thunderstorm ground enhancements—TGEs). Despite large distances from the strongest electric field region, the maximum energy of TGE particles on 22 and 25 May 2018 reaches ≈40 MeV. Thus, the accelerating electric field reaches ≈2.0 keV/cm far from the zone of the strong lightning activity on the periphery of the storm. Light glows appearing simultaneously in the skies may be due to the local charge rearrangement generating a small illuminating discharge without initiating the lightning flash. This type of charge rearrangement does not lower the potential difference in the cloud, allowing the electron accelerator to operate and send particle fluxes in the direction of the earth’s surface.
ISSN:2218-1997
2218-1997
DOI:10.3390/universe8080412