On a possibility of parametric amplifier in the stratosphere-mesosphere suggested by active MASSA experiments with the AUREOL-3 satellite

A short review is given of the contemporary concepts and controversies concerning the electromagnetic effects observed in space which are considered to be the results of energy transport from surface and/or lower atmosphere. A concept of a parametric amplifier in the stratosphere-mesosphere was recently suggested by the authors (1996) from the reanalysis of the experimental results from the AUREOL-3 satellite during active experiments MASSA with ground chemical explosions. Electric discharges in the stratosphere-mesosphere medium were suggested as a mechanism for this parametric amplifier. Such discharges, or localized electric current bursts in the Alfven wave frequency scale (∼0.1–1 s⁻¹), could also play a role as a mechanism of effective energy transport from the surface to space layers. Among the possible EQ precursor effects, some can be related to local atmospheric electricity variations such as emanations of gas and/or aerosols, conductivity changes in the lower atmosphere, or non-linear combinations of acoustic waves with a meteor ionization channel. Thus a multidisciplinary search of EQ precursors, especially with regard to atmospheric electricity variations, lightning-type, or slower discharges related to meteor ionization, seems to be among the ways to deepen the understanding of the complicated relations between different layers of atmosphere and magnetosphere.