Chemical Response of the Upper Atmosphere Due to Lightning‐Induced Electron Precipitation

Abstract

Terrestrial lightning frequently serves as a loss mechanism for energetic electrons in the Van Allen radiation belts, leading to lightning‐induced electron precipitation (LEP). Regardless of the specific causes, energetic electron precipitation from the radiation belts in general has a significant influence on the ozone concentration in the stratosphere and mesosphere. The atmospheric chemical effects induced by LEP have been previously investigated using subionospheric VLF measurements at Faraday station, Antarctica (65.25°S, 64.27°W, L = 2.45). However, there exist large variations in the precipitation flux, ionization production, and occurrence rate of LEP events depending on the peak current of the parent lightning discharge, as well as the season, location, and intensity of the thunderstorm activity. These uncertainties motivate us to revisit the calculation of atmospheric chemical changes produced by LEP. In this study, we combine a well‐validated LEP model and first‐principles atmospheric chemical simulation, and investigate three intense storms in the year of 2013, 2015, and 2017 at the magnetic latitude of 50.normal9°, 32.normal1°, and 35.normal7°, respectively. Modeling results show that the LEP events in these storms can cumulatively drive significant changes in the normalNnormalOx, normalHnormalOx, and Ox concentration in the mesosphere. These changes are as high as ∼156%, ∼66%, and −5% at 75–85 km altitude, respectively, and comparable to the effects typically induced by other types of radiation belt electron precipitation events. Considering the high occurrence rate of thunderstorms around the globe, the long‐term global chemical effects produced by LEP events need to be properly quantified.

Examining the Capability of the VLF Technique for Nowcasting Solar Flares Based on Ground Measurements in Antarctica

“…Table 1 lists the transmitter location, frequency, midpoint location, and length of the great circle path between the different transmitters (NPM, NAA, and HWU) and our receiver at the Remote Sens. 2024, 16, 2092 3 of 16 GWS. Figure 1 shows the corresponding great circle paths between the NPM, NAA, and HWU transmitters and the GWS.…”

“…The D-region ionosphere, namely, the lowest layer of the ionosphere (~60-100 km altitude) and the transition region between the neutral and ionized atmosphere, is constantly influenced by various cosmic, solar, magnetospheric, and atmospheric events [1], including solar eclipses [2][3][4][5][6], solar flares [7][8][9][10][11][12], galactic cosmic rays [13,14], lighting discharge [15][16][17][18], and energetic particle precipitation from the Earth's radiation belts [19][20][21]. Very-Low-Frequency (VLF, 3-30 kHz) waves can travel with relatively low attenuation in the waveguide composed of the Earth's surface and the lower ionosphere [1,22].…”

A Comparative Study of VLF Transmitter Signal Measurements and Simulations during Two Solar Eclipse Events

“…After sunset, the solar inputs disappear, and the D-region relaxes to a state of very weak ionization. This region is of particular importance for the transition and transport processes between the neutral atmosphere and upper ionosphere [3] and is closely correlated with various atmospheric [4], magnetospheric [5,6], and solar events [7,8], including lightning discharge [9][10][11][12], gravity waves [13], radiation belt particle precipitation [14][15][16][17], gammaray bursts [7], solar eclipses [18], and flares [19]. Moreover, the collisional damping in the D-region ionosphere plays a critical role in the attenuation of radio waves, especially the Very-Low-Frequency (VLF, 3-30 kHz) waves, which have been used for navigation and long-range communications before the invention of the Global Positioning System (GPS) [20].…”