Quantifying the impact of lightning on the radiation belts
Abstract
Lightning-induced Electron Precipitation (LEP) is a key process of electron loss in the Earth's radiation belts. The process of an LEP event involves several distinct phenomena of Very Low Frequency (VLF) radio wave propagation and wave-particle interaction. To comprehensively model LEP events, each of these processes must be accurately modeled. We approach this using a combination of several models: the WIPP ray tracing code for whistler wave propagation, the Semi-Analytic Model (SAM) for electron deposition into the ionosphere, and the Long Wavelength Propagation Capability (LWPC) model for VLF signal propagation. We combine these models to produce a comprehensive model that takes as input a high intensity lightning stroke, a VLF Transmitter, and a VLF receiver, and calculates the expected VLF signal perturbations detected at the receiver due to a resulting LEP event from the stroke. We demonstrate that this model suggests a linear relationship between total precipitated electrons and the observed perturbation in VLF signals. We apply this model to a database of observed LEP events in North America, and produce an estimate of the total contribution of lightning on radiation belt electron loss.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2022
- Bibcode:
- 2022AGUFMSM13A..06P