Reconstruction of global lightning activity from the SR

SR measurements can be inverted and used to reconstruct global lightning activity — to quantify its changes day by day. Bozóki et al. (2023) demonstrated a methodology for such daily quantification of changes in global lightning activity based on Schumann resonances Bozoki 2023; the methodological foundations and synthetic tests of the inversion are described by Prácser et al. (2019) Pracser 2019.

The reconstructions yield a telling figure: global lightning activity fluctuates on the order of a factor of 2-3 on a time scale of 3-5 days. These fluctuations are associated with cold outbreaks from polar regions (intrusions of cold air, which intensify convection and thus lightning activity) Bozoki 2023. Such large and rapid variations show how sensitively the SR responds to changes in global convection.

The reconstruction of lightning activity is a methodological bridge between SR measurement and climatic interpretations (#50-#54): without the ability to convert the SR signal back into lightning activity, the proxies for temperature or moisture would remain merely qualitative.