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The rarity of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes

Publication ,  Journal Article
Smith, DM; Dwyer, JR; Hazelton, BJ; Grefenstette, BW; Martinez-Mckinney, GFM; Zhang, ZY; Lowell, AW; Kelley, NA; Splitt, ME; Lazarus, SM; Lu, G ...
Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
April 28, 2011

We report on the first search for Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) from altitudes where they are thought to be produced. The Airborne Detector for Energetic Lightning Emissions (ADELE), an array of gamma-ray detectors, was flown near the tops of Florida thunderstorms in August/September 2009. The plane passed within 10 km horizontal distance of 1213 lightning discharges and only once detected a TGF. If these discharges had produced TGFs of the same intensity as those seen from space, every one should have been seen by ADELE. Separate and significant nondetections are established for intracloud lightning, negative cloud-to-ground lightning, and narrow bipolar events. We conclude that TGFs are not a primary triggering mechanism for lightning. We estimate the TGF-to-flash ratio to be on the order of 10-2 to 10-3 and show that TGF intensities cannot follow the well-known power-law distribution seen in earthquakes and solar flares, due to our limits on the presence of faint events. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Geophysical Research Letters

DOI

ISSN

0094-8276

Publication Date

April 28, 2011

Volume

38

Issue

8

Related Subject Headings

  • Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
 

Citation

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Smith, D. M., Dwyer, J. R., Hazelton, B. J., Grefenstette, B. W., Martinez-Mckinney, G. F. M., Zhang, Z. Y., … Blakeslee, R. J. (2011). The rarity of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. Geophysical Research Letters, 38(8). https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL046875
Smith, D. M., J. R. Dwyer, B. J. Hazelton, B. W. Grefenstette, G. F. M. Martinez-Mckinney, Z. Y. Zhang, A. W. Lowell, et al. “The rarity of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes.” Geophysical Research Letters 38, no. 8 (April 28, 2011). https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL046875.
Smith DM, Dwyer JR, Hazelton BJ, Grefenstette BW, Martinez-Mckinney GFM, Zhang ZY, et al. The rarity of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. Geophysical Research Letters. 2011 Apr 28;38(8).
Smith, D. M., et al. “The rarity of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes.” Geophysical Research Letters, vol. 38, no. 8, Apr. 2011. Scopus, doi:10.1029/2011GL046875.
Smith DM, Dwyer JR, Hazelton BJ, Grefenstette BW, Martinez-Mckinney GFM, Zhang ZY, Lowell AW, Kelley NA, Splitt ME, Lazarus SM, Ulrich W, Schaal M, Saleh ZH, Cramer E, Rassoul HK, Cummer SA, Lu G, Blakeslee RJ. The rarity of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. Geophysical Research Letters. 2011 Apr 28;38(8).
Journal cover image

Published In

Geophysical Research Letters

DOI

ISSN

0094-8276

Publication Date

April 28, 2011

Volume

38

Issue

8

Related Subject Headings

  • Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences