Nonlinear phenomena in the ionospheric plasma. Effects of cosmic rays and runaway breakdown on thunderstorm discharges

Gurevich, A. V.; Karashtin, A. N.; Ryabov, V. A.; Chubenko, A. P.; Shepetov, A. L.

doi:10.3367/ufne.0179.200907h.0779

Cited by 45 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…A number of observations have been made at the Tien Shan High-Altitude Scientific Station of the Physical Institute of the Academy of Sciences (Antonova et al 2007;Chubenko et al 2000Chubenko et al , 2003Gurevich et al 2004cGurevich et al , 2009aGurevich et al , 2009bGurevich et al , 2011a. This facility, which is located between 3.4 and 4 km above sea level, has the capability of recording RF signals, gamma-rays and cosmic-ray air showers.…”

Section: Detailed Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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: Detailed Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

2012

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“…The possible relevance to the atmosphere (and 'life', including humans), is by way of the very likely role of EAS particles in the initiation of lightning (e.g., Gurevich and Zybin 2001;Chubenko et al 2009;Gurevich et al 2009;Chilingarian et al 2009). The idea is that the leader lightning stroke is initiated by runaway electrons which are generated by particles in EAS.…”

Section: Relevance Of Eas To the Origin Of Lifementioning

confidence: 98%

Long Term Time Variability of Cosmic Rays and Possible Relevance to the Development of Life on Earth

Erlykin

Wolfendale

2010

Surv Geophys

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An analysis is made of the manner in which the cosmic ray intensity at Earth has varied over its existence and its possible relevance to both the origin and the evolution of life. Much of the analysis relates to the 'high energy' cosmic rays (E [ 10 14 eV; =0.1 PeV) and their variability due to the changing proximity of the solar system to supernova remnants which are generally believed to be responsible for most cosmic rays up to PeV energies. It is pointed out that, on a statistical basis, there will have been considerable variations in the likely 100 My between the Earth's biosphere reaching reasonable stability and the onset of very elementary life. Interestingly, there is the increasingly strong possibility that PeV cosmic rays are responsible for the initiation of terrestrial lightning strokes and the possibility arises of considerable increases in the frequency of lightnings and thereby the formation of some of the complex molecules which are the 'building blocks of life'. Attention is also given to the well known generation of the oxides of nitrogen by lightning strokes which are poisonous to animal life but helpful to plant growth; here, too, the violent swings of cosmic ray intensities may have had relevance to evolutionary changes. A particular variant of the cosmic ray acceleration model, put forward by us, predicts an increase in lightning rate in the past and this has been sought in Korean historical records. Finally, the time dependence of the overall cosmic ray intensity, which manifests itself mainly at sub-10 GeV energies, has been examined. The relevance of cosmic rays to the 'global electrical circuit' points to the importance of this concept.

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“…Inspite of non-encouraging correlation between GCR and cloud cover, the GCR-cloud cover hypothesis is gaining momentum because microphysical processes linking GCR included ionization and cloud are becoming clear (Yu, 2002;Harrison and Ambaum, 2008;Usoskin and Kovatlsov, 2008;Carslaw, 2009;Nicoll and Harrison, 2009;Harrison and Usoskin, 2010). Gurevich et al (2009) and Chubenko et al (2009) have shown cosmic ray induced lightning using experimental measurements supporting the GCR induced cloud cover hypothesis. However, it is not yet possible to identify the percentage of lightning discharges triggered by GCRs.…”

Section: Galactic Cosmic Rays and Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

Solar Variability, Galactic Cosmic Rays and Climate: A Review

Singh¹,

Singh²,

Siingh³

2014

Earth Science India

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Climate is among the most important natural resources for all living beings. The main external and internal driver for climate change is variability of the Sun. The Sun is the ultimate source of the energy on the Earth and play a key role in its climate change. What is still not known and needs to be found is the extent to which these variations in solar behavior affect the total energy that the Sun emits. The small variation in the solar irradiance and changes in its spectral distribution leads to a large variation in climate. An attempt has been made to report the present understanding of the solar variability and its consequences on the variability of solar irradiance which exhibits 11-year cyclic variation and modulation on higher time scale. Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) reaching the Earth's atmosphere is modulated by the solar wind and geomagnetic field, which also exhibit 11-year cyclic variation. In the present paper, we have reviewed our current understanding on physics of solar variability, galactic cosmic rays and their effects on the Earth's climate.

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Nonlinear phenomena in the ionospheric plasma. Effects of cosmic rays and runaway breakdown on thunderstorm discharges

Cited by 45 publications

References 15 publications

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

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

Long Term Time Variability of Cosmic Rays and Possible Relevance to the Development of Life on Earth

Solar Variability, Galactic Cosmic Rays and Climate: A Review

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