AtmoHEAD 2026

Session

Atmospheric Electricity

29 Jul 2026, 09:00

Palacky University Olomouc

14. The Key Role of Extensive Air Showers with Particle Energies Above 10^15 eV in Lightning Initiation via Powerful Initial Breakdown Pulses (IBPs)

ALEXANDR KOSTINSKIY (Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences)

29/07/2026, 09:00

At present, it is impossible to explain the mechanism of lightning initiation in thunderclouds without considering the key role of powerful discharges that occur 0.04–3 ms after the lightning initiation. These discharges are termed Initial Breakdown Pulses (IBPs), and their peak currents are comparable to the high currents of lightning return strokes to the ground [Rakov & Uman, 2003].
In...

23. CRIT-Cosmic Ray Ionization of Thunderstorms PHITS based model for a cloud electrification model

Jakub Šlegl (Nuclear Physics Institute of the CAS)

29/07/2026, 09:30

Cloud electrification models, such as CEM, developed at the Atmospheric Physics Institute of the CAS, take into account atmospheric ionization by cosmic rays. Originally, only fair weather conditions were considered. To expand this, we first tested CEM's response to changes in vertical ionization curves with a change of solar modulation potential and geomagnetic latitude using the CRAC:CRII...

24. One Year of Measurements with THUNDERMILL02 Electric Field Mills at High-Altitude Observatories and Mobile Deployments

Martin Kákona (Nuclear Physics Institute of the CAS)

29/07/2026, 10:00

In 2025, the THUNDERMILL02 Electric Field Mill (EFM) instruments were deployed at two high-altitude mountain observatories: Basic Environmental Observatory Musala in Bulgaria (2925 m a.s.l.) and Observatory Lomnický štít, Slovakia (2634 m a.s.l.), complemented by mobile measurement campaigns in the Czech Republic. This contribution presents the first year of operational experience and selected...

21. Recent observations of Transient Luminous Events above Central Argentina from the Pierre Auger Observatory

Roberto Mussa (INFN Torino)

29/07/2026, 11:00

The Fluorescence Detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory, beyond its primary focus on cosmic rays, has proved to be a unique facility for the observation of ELVES and HALOS with unprecedented time resolution. Starting on December 2023, to complement these observations, we installed three cameras (TLEcams) to record a larger variety of TLEs with higher space resolution and longer integration...

13. BOLT: Imaging Lightning and Terrestrial Gamma Flashes at the Pierre Auger Observatory

Eric-Teunis de Boone (Center for Particle Physics Siegen, University of Siegen, Germany)

29/07/2026, 11:30

Lightning-related phenomena are known to interact with and influence all detector systems of the Pierre Auger Observatory. Notably, the Surface Detector has recorded unique signals associated with Terrestrial Gamma Flashes (TGFs) which are rare phenomena linked to the initial processes of lightning. Studying TGFs in coincidence with their parent lightning discharges helps to constrain the...

25. : The Atmospheric Science of Mini-EUSO space experiment: results and perspectives

Mario Edoardo Bertaina

29/07/2026, 12:00

Mini-EUSO is a telescope launched on board the International Space Station in 2019. Located in the Russian section of the station it has successfully performed so far more than 150 sessions with the aim of remotely sensing our planet from a nadir-facing UV-transparent window in the Zvezda module. The instrument is based on an optical system employing two Fresnel lenses and a focal surface...