Global Thunderstorm Activity and its Effects on the Radiation Belts and the Lower Ionosphere

该项目提出了一项实验研究，内容包括雷暴与辐射带的耦合、导致向上电动耦合的闪电特征、电离层可变性和参数以及全球闪电和气候学。新发现的由闪电放电发射的磁层反射哨声波造成的辐射带粒子降水，将通过低电离层的相关局部和瞬态扰动进行测量。后者的干扰是通过其对在附近的地球电离层波导中传播的甚低频（VLF）信号的相位和幅度的影响来遥感的。本文提出了在南极Palmer基地进行ELF/VLF宽带无线电大气测量，以测量与精灵等向上电动耦合现象有关的天电特征波形。最近的结果表明，这种测量可以是唯一的，并作为一个代理措施发生强烈的向上耦合现象在全球范围内。帕尔默站的独特位置有利于测量源自地球仪大范围区域（包括美洲、非洲以及大西洋和太平洋）闪电放电的天电。当与星载测量一起使用时，在帕尔默测量的天电的发生时间和到达方位的高度精确的确定构成了评估全球闪电活动的一个强大的新工具。帕尔默的甚低频观测将为一个单独资助的（由NSF/NASA）计划提供重要支持，该计划在南极运行一个甚低频信标发射机。帕尔默站接收到信标信号后，将能够连续测量来自外部辐射带的相对论电子沉降，这是全世界评估“空间天气”努力的一个重要组成部分。拟议的方案是与斯坦福大学在帕尔默（宾夕法尼亚州）的观测进行国际合作的一部分，并与英国罗瑟拉站、巴西乔治王岛上的费拉斯司令基地（通过与巴西的无线电天文学和应用空间中心合作）和以色列内盖夫沙漠的观测进行补充和协调，这些观测得到了特拉维夫大学的支持。拟议的计划补充了斯坦福大学在美国国家科学基金会大气科学部的支持下在北方半球进行的类似观测。需要在北方和南半球进行协调测量，以研究所调查现象的地磁共轭性。

The project proposes an experimental study of thunderstorm coupling to the radiation belts, characterization of lightning flashes which lead to upward electrodynamic coupling, ionospheric variability and parameters, and global lightning and climatology. Newly discovered precipitation of radiation belt particles by magnetospherically reflecting whistler waves launched by lightning discharges will be measured via the associated localized and transient disturbances of the lower ionosphere. The latter disturbances are sensed remotely by means of their effect on the phase and amplitude of very low frequency (VLF) signals propagating in the nearby earth-ionosphere waveguide. Broadband ELF/VLF radio atmospherics measurements at the Antarctic base Palmer are proposed for the measurement of characteristics waveforms of sferics associated with upward electrodynamic coupling phenomena such as sprites. Recent results indicate that such measurements can be unique and used as a proxy measure for occurrences of intense upward coupling phenomena on a global scale. The unique location of Palmer station facilitates the measurements of sferics originating in lightning discharges over large regions of the globe, including the Americas, Africa, and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. When used together with space-borne measurements, the highly accurate determinations of occurrence time and arrival bearings of sferics as measured at Palmer constitute a powerful new tool for assessment of global lightning activity. VLF observations at Palmer will provide crucial support to a separately funded (by the NSF/OPP) program, operating a VLF beacon transmitter at South Pole. Reception of the beacon signal at Palmer Station will allow the continuous measurement of relativistic electron precipitation from the outer radiation belts, an important component of worldwide efforts to assess "space weather". The proposed program is a part of the international collaboration with Stanford observations at Palmer (PA), complemented by and coordinated with observations at the British station Rothera, the Brazilian base Commandante Ferraz on King George Island (through the collaboration with the Centro de Radio-Astronomia e Aplicacoes Espaciais of Brazil), and at Negev Desert in Israel supported by the University of Tel Aviv. The proposed program complements similar observations carried by Stanford University in the northern hemisphere under the support from the NSF Atmospheric Sciences Division. Coordinated measurements in both the northern and southern hemispheres are needed to study the geomagnetic conjugacy of the phenomena under investigation.