HR: 1340h
AN: AE33A-0179    [Abstracts]
TI: The New LANL Sferic Array: Operation and Calibration
AU: * Stanley, M A
EM: stanleym@lanl.gov
AF: Los Alamos National Laboratory, ISR-2, MS D436, Los Alamos, NM 87545 United States
AB: The new Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) sferic array was setup in a compact configuration in northern Florida in April, 2004 with additional stations to be deployed soon around the Great Plains. The array was operated for several months with 1 ms length triggers with the trigger-point normally centered in the data record. In August, the sensitivity was increased while the trigger length was shortened to 400 microseconds with a 80/320 microsecond pre/post-trigger. While even shorter trigger lengths could be used to drop the data rate (or increase the sensitivity for a constant data rate), this would compromise the detection of ionospheric reflections. The northern Florida stations were deployed on top of buildings of varying heights and widths. It was soon discovered that the sensors which were deployed on the tallest buildings were significantly more sensitive to sferics than those on the shorter ones, as would be expected due to the stronger focusing of electric field lines to taller structures. By comparing the amplitude of distant sferics between the stations, a relative gain calibration can be made. To obtain an absolute calibration, a flat-plate sensor with a known response will be located on flat ground near one of our sensors and sferic amplitudes will be compared between the sensors.
DE: 3324 Lightning
DE: 3337 Numerical modeling and data assimilation
DE: 3360 Remote sensing
DE: 3394 Instruments and techniques
DE: 3304 Atmospheric electricity
SC: Atmospheric and Space Electricity [AE]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting