Abstract
It has been realized in recent years that the ionospheric temperatures and ion densities are influenced by the lightning activity. The ionospheric temperature (electron and ion temperature) were measured by the retarded potential analyzer payload aboard the Indian SROSS-C2 satellite. The data at low latitudes falling in the Indian subcontinent in the height range of 425– 625 km for the period 1995–1998 were used for this study. The data on thunderstorm activity for the same period were obtained from India Meteorological Department. To see the effect of active thunderstorm the ionospheric electron and ion temperatures have been compared to the values on normal days. It has been found that the average electron temperature is enhanced during thunderstorm activity by 1.2–1.7 times over the normal days. A similar enhancement has been found in ion temperature by 1.1–1.5 times. It is suspected that the ULF to VLF radiations generated during lightning and sprites from thunderstorm (Geophys. Res. Lett. 18 (1991) 705; 23 (1996) 1067) may cause of the enhancement in electron and ion temperatures.
Published Version
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