RADIATING CONDUCTING COLUMNS INSIDE THE EARTH-IONOSPHERE WAVE-GUIDE -APPLICATION TO RED SPRITES

Citation
Cj. Rodger et al., RADIATING CONDUCTING COLUMNS INSIDE THE EARTH-IONOSPHERE WAVE-GUIDE -APPLICATION TO RED SPRITES, Journal of atmospheric and solar-terrestrial physics, 60(12), 1998, pp. 1193-1204
Citations number
43
Categorie Soggetti
Metereology & Atmospheric Sciences","Geochemitry & Geophysics
ISSN journal
13646826
Volume
60
Issue
12
Year of publication
1998
Pages
1193 - 1204
Database
ISI
SICI code
1364-6826(1998)60:12<1193:RCCITE>2.0.ZU;2-A
Abstract
Expressions are developed to characterise the scattering of VLF electr omagnetic waves from a finite-length ionised column at some height in the Earth-ionosphere waveguide. This formulation has been examined to investigate the perturbations of VLF transmissions caused by scatterin g from red sprites (very large luminous phenomena observed over thunde rstorms). The idea of a correction factor is advanced to move from a p revious model using infinitely long columns to one with truncated colu mns (50-90 km altitude) inside the waveguide. Using a night-time ionos phere model a quantitative comparison is made between experimentally o bserved and modelled red sprite scattering characteristics. It is foun d that the conductivity of the sprite columns ('spritelets') must be a bout 10(-4) S m(-1) to generate the experimentally observed scattered fields. This Suggests that the electron density of red sprites can be five orders of magnitude greater than the night-time ambient electron density at some heights. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights res erved.