TY - JOUR
T1 - First ten months of TGF observations by ASIM
AU - Østgaard, N.
AU - Neubert, T.
AU - Reglero, V.
AU - Ullaland, K.
AU - Yang, S.
AU - Genov, G.
AU - Marisaldi, M.
AU - Mezentsev, A.
AU - Kochkin, P.
AU - Lehtinen, N.
AU - Sarria, D.
AU - Qureshi, B.H.
AU - Solberg, A.
AU - Maiorana, C.
AU - Albrechtsen, K.
AU - Budtz‐Jørgensen, C.
AU - Kuvvetli, I.
AU - Christiansen, F.
AU - Chanrion, O.
AU - Heumesser, M.
AU - Navarro‐Gonzalez, J.
AU - Connell, P.
AU - Eyles, C.
AU - Christian, H.
AU - Al‐Nussirat, S.
N1 - ©2019. The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - The Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on April 2, 2018. The ASIM payload consists of two main instruments, the Modular X- and Gamma-ray Sensor (MXGS) for imaging and spectral analysis of Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) and the Modular Multi-spectral Imaging Array (MMIA) for detection, imaging and spectral analysis of Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) and lightning. ASIM is the first space mission designed for simultaneous observations of TLEs, TGFs and optical lightning. During the first ten months of operation (June 2, 2018 to April 1, 2019) the MXGS has observed 217 TGFs. In this paper we report several unprecedented measurements and new scientific results obtained by ASIM during this period: 1) simultaneous TGF observations by Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and ASIM MXGS revealing the very good detection capability of ASIM MXGS and showing substructures in the TGF, 2) TGFs and Elves produced during the same lightning flash and even simultaneously have been observed, 3) first imaging of TGFs giving a unique source location, 4) strong statistical support for TGFs being produced during the upward propagation of a leader just before a large current pulse heats up the channel and emits a strong optical pulse, and 5) the t50 duration of TGFs observed from space is shorter than previously reported.
AB - The Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on April 2, 2018. The ASIM payload consists of two main instruments, the Modular X- and Gamma-ray Sensor (MXGS) for imaging and spectral analysis of Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) and the Modular Multi-spectral Imaging Array (MMIA) for detection, imaging and spectral analysis of Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) and lightning. ASIM is the first space mission designed for simultaneous observations of TLEs, TGFs and optical lightning. During the first ten months of operation (June 2, 2018 to April 1, 2019) the MXGS has observed 217 TGFs. In this paper we report several unprecedented measurements and new scientific results obtained by ASIM during this period: 1) simultaneous TGF observations by Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and ASIM MXGS revealing the very good detection capability of ASIM MXGS and showing substructures in the TGF, 2) TGFs and Elves produced during the same lightning flash and even simultaneously have been observed, 3) first imaging of TGFs giving a unique source location, 4) strong statistical support for TGFs being produced during the upward propagation of a leader just before a large current pulse heats up the channel and emits a strong optical pulse, and 5) the t50 duration of TGFs observed from space is shorter than previously reported.
U2 - 10.1029/2019jd031214
DO - 10.1029/2019jd031214
M3 - Journal article
SN - 2169-897X
VL - 124
SP - 14024
EP - 14036
JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
IS - 24
ER -