First measurements of low-frequency sferics associated with Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes produced by equatorial thunderstorms
Authors/Creators
- 1. Key Laboratory of Middle Atmosphere and Global Environment Observation (LAGEO), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- 2. School of Earth and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China
Description
The data supports the manuscript entitled “First measurements of low-frequency sferics associated with Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes produced by equatorial thunderstorms”.
The low-frequency (LF) lightning sferics associated with TGFs detected by Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor over equatorial thunderstorms have been recorded at a station in Melaka, Malaysia since 2017. We examine the LF sferics of two Fermi TGFs, including one TGF-associated lightning discharge at only about 28 km range. Both TGFs are related to the strongest pulse during the initial stage of their parent intra-cloud (IC) lightning, while in both cases the light curve of gamma-ray photon lags the major lightning pulse by approximately 100 μs. TGF occurred about 3 ms after the lightning initiation when the initial upward negative leader has ascended for about 2 km to reach the height of 10-11 km. Our analyses on a statistical basis show that TGF-related lightning is mostly located in the strong convection of equatorial thunderstorms at the mature stage, and near half TGFs are not produced in the strongest convection region.