Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Strong Thunderstorms on Parameters of the Middle Latitude Ionospheric D-Region

摘要

Partial reflection measurements at middle latitudes in the vicinity of Kharkiv have been used to study the effect of strong thunderstorms on parameters of the ionospheric D-region. It is shown that during thunderstorms the electron number density N in the lower D region (z<70km) often in creases to N<8.10~3cm~-3, while in the higher part (z>80km) no changes occur. Possible variations of the electron- molecule collision frequency are investigated.