Yakutsk, Russian Federation
Yakutsk, Russian Federation
We analyze variations of lightning activity presented by the lightning stroke number obtained by the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) within the territory with boundaries 40–80° N and 60–180° E in 2009–2016. There are two regions with high lightning activity: western (48–60° N, 60–90° E) and eastern (40–55° N, 110–140° E). The lightning stroke density in these regions is 10–100 times higher than that in surrounding areas. The comparison between daily variations of lightning stroke number and the 10.7 cm solar radio flux shows no correlation: the linear correlation coefficient varied from –0.55 to 0.86 in the western region and from –0.78 to 0.39 in the eastern region during all summer seasons. During the ascending phase of solar cycle 24, there was a spatial lightning redistribution between the western and eastern regions of high lightning activity. During peaks of the solar cycle and its descending phase, the redistribution was not so pronounced as that during the ascending
lightning stroke, spatial distribution, World Wide Lightning Location Network
INTRODUCTION
The impact of space weather on low atmospheric layers is a great problem. It is important to determine the contribution of space weather to lightning activity, ignoring tropospheric processes [Rycroft, 2014]. Obser-vations in different regions over the world show diverse but certain influence of solar activity on lightning activi-ty. As inferred from regular satellite monitoring over South Asia and Southeast Asia, the lightning activity was in antiphase with solar activity from 2000 to 2010 [Siingh et al., 2013]. The negative correlation between
lightning activity and solar activity was also found in [Pinto Neto et al., 1998; Raspopov et al, 2010]. One of the probable processes is solar modulation of galactic cosmic rays, which influence cloud formation. This assumption is confirmed by different long-term observations showing positive feedback between lightning activity variations and galactic cosmic ray flux [Chronis, 2009; Ajieva et al, 2010]. Another effect space weather has on the lightning rate is suggested in [Owens et al, 2014; Scott et al, 2014]. Basing on observations of lightning activity made over Great Britain during 6 years, they have found a lightning rate response to the fast solar wind. Arrival of the high-speed stream in Earth also coincides with a small (∼1 %) but rapid decrease in the galactic cosmic ray flux, a moderate (∼6 %) increase in lower energy solar energetic protons (SEPs), and a substantial, statistically significant increase in lightning rates. Also, the significant increase or decrease in the lightning rate and thunder days was found to be consistent with changes of the heliospheric magnetic field polarity. Another probable process of solar modulation of lightning rate is the impact on the global electric circuit and through it on thunderstorms [Harrison et al, 2010].
The object of this study is to estimate the correlation of lightning activity spatial-temporal distribution with solar activity at midlatitudes in northern Asia
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