I received this one late last night after I'd gome to bed.   
       
   Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes, More Common Than Previously Thought?   
       
   Dec 31, 2014:  Each day, thunderstorms around the world produce about a   
   thousand quick bursts of gamma rays, some of the highest-energy light   
   naturally found on Earth. By merging records of events seen by NASA's Fermi   
   Gamma-ray Space Telescope with data from ground-based radar and lightning   
   detectors, scientists have completed the most detailed analysis to date of the   
   types of thunderstorms involved.   
       
   "Remarkably, we have found that any thunderstorm can produce gamma rays, even   
   those that appear to be so weak a meteorologist wouldn't look twice at them,"   
   said Themis Chronis, who led the research at the University of Alabama in   
   Huntsville (UAH).   
       
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgK4Ds_Sj6Q   
       
   New research merging Fermi data with information from ground-based radar and   
   lightning networks shows that terrestrial gamma-ray flashes arise from an   
   unexpected diversity of storms and may be more common than currently thought.   
   Play video [Worth seeing]   
       
   The outbursts, called terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs), were discovered in   
   1992 by NASA's Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, which operated until 2000. TGFs   
   occur unpredictably and fleetingly, with durations less than a thousandth of a   
   second, and remain poorly understood.   
       
   In late 2012, Fermi scientists employed new techniques that effectively   
   upgraded the satellite's Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM), making it 10 times   
   more sensitive to TGFs and allowing it to record weak events that were   
   overlooked before.   
       
   "As a result of our enhanced discovery rate, we were able to show that most   
   TGFs also generate strong bursts of radio waves like those produced by   
   lightning," said Michael Briggs, assistant director of the Center for Space   
   Plasma and Aeronomic Research at UAH and a member of the GBM team.   
       
   Previously, TGF positions could be roughly estimated based on Fermi's location   
   at the time of the event. The GBM can detect flashes within about 500 miles   
   (800 kilometers), but this is too imprecise to definitively associate a TGF   
   with a specific storm.   
       
   Ground-based lightning networks use radio data to pin down strike locations.   
   The discovery of similar signals from TGFs meant that scientists could use the   
   networks to determine which storms produce gamma-ray flashes, opening the door   
   to a deeper understanding of the meteorology powering these extreme events.   
       
   Chronis, Briggs and their colleagues sifted through 2,279 TGFs detected by   
   Fermi's GBM to derive a sample of nearly 900 events accurately located by the   
   Total Lightning Network operated by Earth Networks in Germantown, Maryland,   
   and the World Wide Lightning Location Network, a research collaboration run by   
   the University of Washington in Seattle. These systems can pinpoint the   
   location of lightning discharges -- and the corresponding signals from TGFs --   
   to within 6 miles (10 km) anywhere on the globe.   
       
   From this group, the team identified 24 TGFs that occurred within areas   
   covered by Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) sites in Florida, Louisiana,   
   Texas, Puerto Rico and Guam. For eight of these storms, the researchers   
   obtained additional information about atmospheric conditions through sensor   
   data collected by the Department of Atmospheric Science at the University of   
   Wyoming in Laramie.   
       
   "All told, this study is our best look yet at TGF-producing storms, and it   
   shows convincingly that storm intensity is not the key," said Chronis, who   
   will present the findings Wed., Dec. 17, in an invited talk at the American   
   Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco. A paper describing the research   
   has been submitted to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.   
       
   Scientists suspect that TGFs arise from strong electric fields near the tops   
   of thunderstorms. Updrafts and downdrafts within the storms force rain, snow   
   and ice to collide and acquire electrical charge. Usually, positive charge   
   accumulates in the upper part of the storm and negative charge accumulates   
   below. When the storm's electrical field becomes so strong it breaks down the   
   insulating properties of air, a lightning discharge occurs.   
       
   Under the right conditions, the upper part of an intracloud lightning bolt   
   disrupts the storm's electric field in such a way that an avalanche of   
   electrons surges upward at high speed. When these fast-moving electrons are   
   deflected by air molecules, they emit gamma rays and create a TGF.   
       
   About 75 percent of lightning stays within the storm, and about 2,000 of these   
   intracloud discharges occur for each TGF Fermi detects.   
       
   The new study confirms previous findings indicating that TGFs tend to occur   
   near the highest parts of a thunderstorm, between about 7 and 9 miles (11 to   
   14 kilometers) high. "We suspect this isn't the full story," explained Briggs.   
   "Lightning often occurs at lower altitudes and TGFs probably do too, but   
   traveling the greater depth of air weakens the gamma rays so much the GBM   
   can't detect them."   
       
   Based on current Fermi statistics, scientists estimate that some 1,100 TGFs   
   occur each day, but the number may be much higher if low-altitude flashes are   
   being missed.   
       
   While it is too early to draw conclusions, Chronis notes, there are a few   
   hints that gamma-ray flashes may prefer storm areas where updrafts have   
   weakened and the aging storm has become less organized. "Part of our ongoing   
   research is to track these storms with NEXRAD radar to determine if we can   
   relate TGFs to the thunderstorm life cycle," he said.   
       
   Credits:   
   Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA   
       
   More information:   
       
   Download video in HD formats from NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization   
   Studio   
       
   Fermi Improves its Vision for Thunderstorm Gamma-Ray Flashes (12.06.2012)   
       
   NASA's Fermi Catches Thunderstorms Hurling Antimatter into Space (01.10.2011)   
       
       
   Regards,   
       
   Roger   
      
   --- D'Bridge 3.99   
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