ELF and VLF radio waves

Abstract

This review covers developments in ELF and VLF radio-wave propagation research over the last 50 years of the Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics. A review of such a large field, over such a long period, cannot be fully comprehensive and the authors have therefore covered important areas which have they themselves have found interesting. The survey begins with a review of work on natural and man made sources of ELF and VLF radiation. This is followed by sections on experimental and theoretical studies of unperturbed (ambient) ELF and VLF radio propagation. Schumann resonance research, which is currently undergoing a renaissance, is then reviewed. A review of research into transient perturbations of ELF and VLF propagation follows, extending from the early work on nuclear explosions up to the current work on sprites. The review concludes with a brief summary of the VLF navigation systems of the USSR and USA, (Alpha and Omega) whose development and life-span covered most of the last 50 years.