Natural Electromagnetic Phenomena and Electromagnetic Theory: A Review

Abstract

We review the new findings on natural electromagnetic phenomena in the near-Earth environment and will show the importance of electromagnetic analyses in elucidating the essential points of these phenomena. The topics include (1) atmospheric phenomena related to lightning (e.g. mesospheric optical emissions); (2) seismo-electromagnetic phenomena (electromagnetic phenomena associated with earthquakes and/or volcano eruptions); (3) plasma and wave phenomena in the Earth's ionosphere and magnetosphere; and (4) electromagnetic or electrodynamic coupling among different regions. We pay our greatest attention to the unsolved essential problems for each subject, and suggest how electromagnetics would contribute to a solution to those problems. © 2004, The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. All rights reserved.