Whistlers, Trimpis and evidence that electron precipitation may trigger atmospheric discharges

• Published in: Journal of atmospheric and solar-terrestrial physics Vol. 60; no. 11; pp. 1149 - 1158
• Main Authors: Rice, W.K.M., Hughes, A.R.W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01-07-1998
• Subjects: Marion Island, South Indian Ocean outlying islands
• ISSN: 1364-6826; 1879-1824
• DOI: 10.1016/S1364-6826(98)00055-8

Trimpi events and associated whistler groups recorded on Marion Island show that the observed Trimpis can be explained by electron precipitation induced by the associated whistlers. The almost simultaneous observation of whistlers and Trimpis indicates that the interacting electrons must have mirrored in the northern hemisphere before precipitating in the south. The Trimpi associated whistler groups are, in all cases, followed, after a fairly well-defined time interval of about 600 ms, by a second, fainter whistler group. The interval between the first and second whistler group suggests that some of the electrons which interacted with the first whistler group may have precipitated in the northern hemisphere and triggered the atmospheric discharge that gave rise to the second group.