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Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes Can Be Detected with Radio Measurements of Energetic In-cloud Pulses during Thunderstorms
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  • Fanchao Lyu,
  • Steven A. Cummer,
  • Michael S. Briggs,
  • David M. Smith,
  • Bagrat Mailyan,
  • Stephen Lesage
Fanchao Lyu
Nanjing Joint Institute for Atmospheric Sciences
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Steven A. Cummer
Duke University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Michael S. Briggs
University of Alabama in Huntsville
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David M. Smith
University of California, Santa Cruz
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Bagrat Mailyan
New York University Abu Dhabi
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Stephen Lesage
University of Alabama in Huntsville
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Abstract

Many of the details of how terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) are produced, including their association with upward-propagating in-cloud lightning leader channels, remain poorly understood. Measurements of the low-frequency radio emissions associated with TGF production continuously provide unique views and key insights into the electrodynamics of this process. Here we report further details on the connection between energetic in-cloud pulses (EIPs) and TGFs. With coordinated measurements from both the ground-based radio sensors and space-based gamma-ray detectors on the Fermi and RHESSI spacecraft, we find that all ten +EIPs that occurred within the searched space-and-time window are associated with simultaneous TGFs, including two new TGFs that were not previously identified by the gamma-ray measurements alone. The results in this study not only solidify the tight connection between +EIPs and TGFs, but also demonstrate the practicability of detecting a subpopulation of TGFs with ground-based radio sensors alone.
16 Jun 2021Published in Geophysical Research Letters volume 48 issue 11. 10.1029/2021GL093627