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Ann. Geophys., 24, 1969-1976, 2006
www.ann-geophys.net/24/1969/2006/
© European Geosciences Union 2006
Satellite observations of lightning-induced hard X-ray flux enhancements in the conjugate region
R. Bučík1, K. Kudela1, and S. N. Kuznetsov2
1Institute of Experimental Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Watsonova 47, 040 01 Košice, Slovakia
2Institute of Nuclear Physics, Moscow State University, Vorob’evy Gory, 119899 Moscow, Russia
Abstract. Preliminary examination of October-December 2002 SONG (SOlar Neutron and
Gamma rays) data aboard the Russian CORONAS-F (Complex Orbital Near-Earth
Observations of the Activity of the Sun) low-altitude satellite has revealed
many X-ray enhanced emissions (30–500 keV) in the slot region
(L ~ 2–3) between the Earth's radiation belts. In one case, CORONAS-F
data were analyzed when the intense hard X-ray emissions were seen westward
of the South Atlantic Anomaly in a rather wide L shell range from 1.7 to
2.6. Enhanced fluxes observed on day 316 (12 November) were most likely
associated with a Major Severe Weather Outbreak in Eastern USA, producing
extensive lightning flashes, as was documented by simultaneous optical
observations from space. We propose that whistler mode signals from these
lightning discharges cause precipitation of energetic electrons from
terrestrial trapped radiation belts, which, in turn, produce atmospheric X-rays
in the Southern Hemisphere.
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