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Mountaintop Gamma Ray Observations of Three Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flashes at the Säntis Tower, Switzerland With Coincident Radio Waveforms.

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Title: Mountaintop Gamma Ray Observations of Three Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flashes at the Säntis Tower, Switzerland With Coincident Radio Waveforms.
Authors: Chaffin, Jeffrey M.1,2 (AUTHOR) jmchaffi@ucsc.edu, Smith, David M.1 (AUTHOR), Lapierre, Jeff3 (AUTHOR), Cummer, Steve4 (AUTHOR), Ortberg, John1 (AUTHOR), Sunjerga, Antonio5 (AUTHOR), Mostajabi, Amirhossein5 (AUTHOR), Rubinstein, Marcos6 (AUTHOR), Rachidi, Farhad5 (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres. 1/28/2024, Vol. 129 Issue 2, p1-13. 13p.
Subject Terms: Gamma rays, Summer storms, X-ray bursts, Gamma ray bursts, Summer, Particle physics, Atmospherics
Geographic Terms: Switzerland
Abstract: We report on the mountain top observation of three terrestrial gamma‐ray flashes (TGFs) that occurred during the summer storm season of 2021. To our knowledge, these are the first TGFs observed in a mountaintop environment and the first published European TGFs observed from the ground. A gamma‐ray sensitive detector was located at the base of the Säntis Tower in Switzerland and observed three unique TGF events with coincident radio sferic data characteristic of TGFs seen from space. We will show an example of a "slow pulse" radio signature (Cummer et al., 2011, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL048099; Lu et al., 2011, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JA016141; Pu et al., 2019, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082743; Pu et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL089427), a −EIP (Lyu et al., 2016, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070154; Lyu et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093627; Wada et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031730), and a double peak TGF associated with an extraordinarily powerful and complicated positive‐polarity sferic, where each TGF peak is possibly preceded by a short burst of stepped leader emission. Plain Language Summary: We present the first report of mountain top observations of terrestrial gamma‐ray flashes (TGFs) that occurred during the summer storm season of 2021. A gamma‐ray sensitive detector was placed at the base of the Säntis Tower in Switzerland and detected three distinct TGF events. Each event is associated with a coincident lightning flash. We analyze the radio emission of the associated lightning flash and make comparisons with previously published associations between TGFs and certain radio sferics. Additionally, one of the observed TGFs is likely a two‐pulse event where each gamma‐ray peak may be preceded in time by a brief burst of X‐ray stepped leader emission. Key Points: First terrestrial gamma ray flashe (TGF) observations from a mountaintopFirst ground observation of a TGF associated with a "slow pulse" radio sfericPossible stepped leader X‐rays preceding a double pulsed TGF [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Abstract:We report on the mountain top observation of three terrestrial gamma‐ray flashes (TGFs) that occurred during the summer storm season of 2021. To our knowledge, these are the first TGFs observed in a mountaintop environment and the first published European TGFs observed from the ground. A gamma‐ray sensitive detector was located at the base of the Säntis Tower in Switzerland and observed three unique TGF events with coincident radio sferic data characteristic of TGFs seen from space. We will show an example of a "slow pulse" radio signature (Cummer et al., 2011, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL048099; Lu et al., 2011, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JA016141; Pu et al., 2019, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082743; Pu et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL089427), a −EIP (Lyu et al., 2016, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL070154; Lyu et al., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093627; Wada et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031730), and a double peak TGF associated with an extraordinarily powerful and complicated positive‐polarity sferic, where each TGF peak is possibly preceded by a short burst of stepped leader emission. Plain Language Summary: We present the first report of mountain top observations of terrestrial gamma‐ray flashes (TGFs) that occurred during the summer storm season of 2021. A gamma‐ray sensitive detector was placed at the base of the Säntis Tower in Switzerland and detected three distinct TGF events. Each event is associated with a coincident lightning flash. We analyze the radio emission of the associated lightning flash and make comparisons with previously published associations between TGFs and certain radio sferics. Additionally, one of the observed TGFs is likely a two‐pulse event where each gamma‐ray peak may be preceded in time by a brief burst of X‐ray stepped leader emission. Key Points: First terrestrial gamma ray flashe (TGF) observations from a mountaintopFirst ground observation of a TGF associated with a "slow pulse" radio sfericPossible stepped leader X‐rays preceding a double pulsed TGF [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:2169897X
DOI:10.1029/2023JD039761