Initial results from simultaneous observation of X‐rays and electric fields in a thunderstorm

Eack, K.; Beasley, William H.; Rust, W. David; Marshall, T. C.; Stolzenburg, Maribeth

doi:10.1029/96jd01705

Cited by 150 publications

(135 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…A hard x-ray glow (measured up to 120 keV), similar to those seen by the University of Washington group, was reported from within an active mesoscale convective system (MCS) at 4 km altitude by Eack et al (1996a). The x-ray emission coincided with the altitude of highest electric field (see Fig.…”

Section: Airborne Observations Of X-ray/gamma-ray Glowsmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…In the following decade, Eack and collaborators used balloons to carry both scintillators and electric field detectors through and above active cells (Eack et al 1996a(Eack et al , 1996b(Eack et al , 2000. A hard x-ray glow (measured up to 120 keV), similar to those seen by the University of Washington group, was reported from within an active mesoscale convective system (MCS) at 4 km altitude by Eack et al (1996a).…”

Section: Airborne Observations Of X-ray/gamma-ray Glowsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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High-Energy Atmospheric Physics: Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes and Related Phenomena

2012

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It is now well established that both thunderclouds and lightning routinely emit x-rays and gamma-rays. These emissions appear over wide timescales, ranging from submicrosecond bursts of x-rays associated with lightning leaders, to sub-millisecond bursts of gamma-rays seen in space called terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, to minute long glows from thunderclouds seen on the ground and in or near the cloud by aircraft and balloons. In particular, terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs), which are thought to be emitted by thunderclouds, are so bright that they sometimes saturate detectors on spacecraft hundreds of kilometers away. These TGFs also generate energetic secondary electrons and positrons that are detected by spacecraft in the inner magnetosphere. It is generally believed that these x-ray and gamma-ray emissions are generated, via bremsstrahlung, by energetic runaway electrons that are accelerated by electric fields in the atmosphere. In this paper, we review this newly emerging field of High-Energy Atmospheric Physics, including the production of runaway electrons, the production and propagation of energetic radiation, and the effects of both on atmospheric electrodynamics.

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Section: Airborne Observations Of X-ray/gamma-ray Glowsmentioning

confidence: 67%

Section: Airborne Observations Of X-ray/gamma-ray Glowsmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Energy Atmospheric Physics: Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes and Related Phenomena

2012

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“…Since then, several groups have measured glows from the ground [3][4][5][6][7] and from balloons 8,9 . Other groups refer to glows as thunderstorm ground enhancements (TGE) (ref.…”

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confidence: 99%

Relativistic electron avalanches as a thunderstorm discharge competing with lightning

et al. 2015

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Gamma-ray 'glows' are long duration (seconds to tens of minutes) X-ray and gamma-ray emission coming from thunderclouds. Measurements suggest the presence of relativistic runaway electron avalanches (RREA), the same process underlying terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. Here we demonstrate that glows are relatively a common phenomena near the tops of thunderstorms, when compared with events such as terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. Examining the strongest glow measured by the airborne detector for energetic emissions, we show that this glow is measured near the end of a downward RREA, consistent with occurring between the upper positive charge layer and the negative screening layer above it. The glow discharges the upper positive layer by Z9.6 mA, strong enough to be an important charging mechanism of the storm. For this glow, the gamma-ray flux observed is close to the value at which relativistic feedback processes become important, with an avalanche multiplication factor of 4,500.

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“…This is the case because the hard g rays were observed to be associated with tropospheric sources [cf., e.g., Eack et al, 1996;Chubenko et al, 2000;Torii et al, 2002;Dwyer et al, 2004;Tsuchiya et al, 2007Tsuchiya et al, , 2009, and references therein].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Localization of the source of terrestrial neutron bursts detected in thunderstorm atmosphere

et al. 2010

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[1] To localize an altitude of the neutron source responsible for the neutron flux enhancements observed on the ground, numerical simulations of photonuclear production and transport to on-ground detector locations were carried out. The neutron fluence calculated for the volumetric source located at the altitudes 8-12 km is consistent with that estimated from neutron numbers measured on the ground. This altitude range is consistent with the idea that the burst of hard g rays detected recently by Tsuchiya et al. (2007Tsuchiya et al. ( , 2009 originate from a volumetric intracloud g ray source. Most likely, the photonuclear reactions caused by bremsstruhlung of descending relativistic runaway electron avalanches account for the neutron flux increases observed in the thunderstorm atmosphere.Citation: Babich, L. P., E. I. Bochkov, I. M. Kutsyk, and R. A. Roussel-Dupré (2010), Localization of the source of terrestrial neutron bursts detected in thunderstorm atmosphere,

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Initial results from simultaneous observation of X‐rays and electric fields in a thunderstorm

Cited by 150 publications

References 12 publications

High-Energy Atmospheric Physics: Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes and Related Phenomena

High-Energy Atmospheric Physics: Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes and Related Phenomena

Relativistic electron avalanches as a thunderstorm discharge competing with lightning

Localization of the source of terrestrial neutron bursts detected in thunderstorm atmosphere

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