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Spectral Observations of Optical Emissions Associated with Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes
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  • Matthias Heumesser,
  • Olivier Chanrion,
  • Torsten Neubert,
  • Hugh Christian,
  • Christoph Koehn,
  • Krystallia Dimitriadou,
  • Francisco J Gordillo-Vazquez,
  • Alejandro Luque,
  • Francisco J. Pérez-Invernón,
  • Richard Blakeslee,
  • Andrew Mezentsev,
  • Nikolai Østgaard,
  • Víctor Reglero
Matthias Heumesser
National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Spac), Denmark

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Olivier Chanrion
National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Spac), Denmark
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Torsten Neubert
National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Spac), Denmark
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Hugh Christian
Earth System Science Center, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Alabama, USA
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Christoph Koehn
National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Spac), Denmark
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Krystallia Dimitriadou
Natinal Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Space), Denmark
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Francisco J Gordillo-Vazquez
Instituto de Astrofı́sica de Andalucı́a (IAA
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Alejandro Luque
Instituto de Astrofı́sica de Andalucı́a (IAA
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Francisco J. Pérez-Invernón
Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Wessling, Germany
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Richard Blakeslee
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA
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Andrew Mezentsev
Birkeland Centre for Space Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
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Nikolai Østgaard
Birkeland Centre for Space Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
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Víctor Reglero
Image Processing Laboratory, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
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Abstract

The Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor measures Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes (TGFs) simultaneously with optical emissions from associated lightning activity. We analyzed optical measurements at 180-230 nm, 337 nm and 777.4 nm related to 69 TGFs observed between June 2018 and October 2019. All TGFs are associated with optical emissions with 90% at the onset of a large optical pulse, suggesting that they are connected with the initiation of current surges. A simple model of photon delay induced by cloud scattering suggests that the sources of the optical pulses are from 0.7 ms before to 4.4 ms after the TGFs, with a median of -10±80 μs, and 1-5 km below the cloud top. The pulses have rise times comparable to lightning without identified TGFs, while the FWHM is twice as long. Pulse amplitudes at 337 nm are ∼3 times larger than at 777.4 nm. The results support the leader-streamer mechanism for TGF generation.
28 Feb 2021Published in Geophysical Research Letters volume 48 issue 4. 10.1029/2020GL090700