A Review of What Can Be Learnt from Tweeks and Related Topics

Tweeks are ELF/VLF radio signals originating from lightning discharges that exhibit dispersion due to their propagation in the Earth-ionosphere waveguide. Examples of the waveforms of tweeks and their dynamic frequency-time spectra are presented and interpreted. Tweeks observed in the daytime and night-time are compared and contrasted. Tweeks observed during a solar eclipse are also discussed, as are those due to volcanic lightning and those claimed to be recorded some hours or days before a strong earthquake. The variations of tweek occurrence with season and geomagnetic activity, and with variations of solar radiation over the 11-year solar cycle, are reviewed. Wherever possible, geophysical interpretations are discussed. Theoretical models of tweek waveforms and spectra are considered; they vary according to the lightning current model used, the distance from the source (≥1 Mm), the vertical profile of ionospheric D-region ionisation and the specific mode theory used. The simplest interpretation shows that the first-order tweek cut- off frequency ~1.8 kHz is explained as reflection by the ionosphere at a height of ~83 km where the electron density is ~27 × 106 m−3. More complex interpretations are also reviewed and compared with electron density observations made by rockets and with profiles given by lower ionospheric models such as the International Reference Ionosphere or the Faraday International Reference Ionosphere.