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Studies on Schumann Resonance Phenomena and Some Recent Advancements

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy volume 59, pages 980–994 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Discrete spectra of frequencies at 8, 14, 20, 26, … Hz are generated by electromagnetic emission from lightning sources and can be regarded as excitation of AC global circuit. These electromagnetic emissions originating within the Earth-ionosphere waveguide occur in the ULF, ELF and VLF frequency ranges. These include Schuman Resonances (SR), ELF-VLF sferics, sprites etc. During 1990s and later, the scenario with these sub-ionospheric ELF SR waves changed and several new aspects emerged. The SR power varies with respect to the receiver position and the lightning centers, commonly referred as source-observer distance. Both electric and magnetic components of SR intensity vary with the spatial shifts of the thunderstorm regions under El-Niño and La-Niña conditions. The magnitude of the lightning in the lower atmospheric region varies with time of the day. The electromagnetic waves thus generated at SR frequencies resonate due to multiple reflections in the Earth-ionosphere cavity. The total signal may be dependent on the waves from the different lightning sources. In this context, different groups of researchers throughout the globe are working and published few interesting results. In this work, few results of different observatories are discussed. Also, an attempt was made to detect experimentally the discrete signals at Kolkata (Lat. 22.56° N, Long. 88.5° E) from the year 1999. Some frequency changes in the peak values are observed in the recorded data which may be attributed to uncertainty arising from spatial distribution of lightning sources exciting the Schuman Resonance modes. Some of those results are also presented in this paper.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) through S.K. Mitra Centre for Research in Space Environment, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India, in carrying out this work. They are also thankful to the Head, Institute of Radio Physics and Electronics, University of Calcutta, for his interest in the problem.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre of Advanced Study in Radio Physics and Electronics, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India

    Abhijit Ghosh, Pranab Hazra, Gautam Guha & S. S. De

  2. Department of Physics, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India

    Abhijit Ghosh & Debasish Biswas

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  1. Abhijit Ghosh
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  3. Pranab Hazra
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  5. S. S. De
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Correspondence to S. S. De.

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Abhijit Ghosh, Biswas, D., Hazra, P. et al. Studies on Schumann Resonance Phenomena and Some Recent Advancements. Geomagn. Aeron. 59, 980–994 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793219080073

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793219080073