Study of schumann resonances based on magnetotelluric records from the western mediterranean and antarctica

Abstract

Eight independent magnetotelluric (MT) campaigns, carried out in the western Mediterranean area and Antarctica, have been analyzed with the aim of extracting information from Schumann resonances (SR). The advantages and drawbacks of MT data with respect to single-purpose fixed stations for SR research are evaluated. Two different methods of signal processing have been employed: spectral analysis through the fast Fourier transform (FFT) and Rescaled Range analysis (R/S), calculating the Hurst exponents. The first permitted a study of the source contributions, the effects caused by local changes in the observation area, interseasonal behavior, and the relations between electric and magnetic horizontal fields. The average central frequencies obtained for the first three resonances are 7.8, 14, and 20.5 Hz respectively, but there are fluctuations in them. These variations seem to respond to the characteristics of the principal active storms that generate the resonances. These frequency shifts are stronger for the second and third resonances. Owing to the broadband registering of MT, the second method of signal processing could be applied to the low noise signals from Antarctica with high resolution, revealing the persistent nature of SR. A numerical simulation indicates a way for inferring lightning rates from R/S analysis. © 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.