Global lightning formation at a minimum and maximum of solar activity according to the observations of the Schumann resonance on the Kola Peninsula

• Published in: Geomagnetism and Aeronomy 2010-12, Vol.50 (6), p.781-787
• Main Authors: Beloglazov, M. I., Akhmetov, O. I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atmospheric sciences; Cosmic rays; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Electromagnetic fields; Electromagnetism; Geophysics/Geodesy; Lighting; Lightning; Resonance; Solar activity
• ISSN: 0016-7932; 1555-645X; 0016-7940
• DOI: 10.1134/S0016793210060095

On the basis of the two-component measurements of the atmospheric noise electromagnetic field on the Kola Peninsula, a change in the first Schumann resonance (SR-1) as an indicator of global lightning formation is studied depending on the level of galactic cosmic rays (GCRs). It is found that the effect of GCRs is most evident during five months: in January and from September to December; in this case the SR-1 intensity in 2001 was higher than the level of 2007 by a factor of 1.5 and more. This effect almost disappears when the regime of the Northern Hemisphere changes into the summer regime. It is assumed that an increase in the GCR intensity results in an increase in the lightning occurrence frequency; however, the probability that the power of each lightning stroke decreases owing to an early disruption of the charge separation and accumulation processes in a thundercloud increases; on the contrary, a decrease in the GCR intensity decreases lightning stroke occurrence frequency and simultaneously increases the probability of accumulating a higher energy by a thundercloud and increasing the lightning power to the maximum possible values.