Analyses of the peak current polarity from the long range VLF network – ZEUS

The paper will present an experimental ELF-based algorithm that assigns peak current polarity to the sferics measurements obtained by a VLF long-range lightning detection network ZEUS. This polarity analyses is based on intercomparisons with measurements obtained in Brazil, by a network that has 25 IMPACT/LPATS antennas installed in the southern and southeast part of Brazil - RINDAT, during the months of November and December of 2004. In the present moment, the experimental algorithm retrieves polarity sign based on confidence levels. The preliminary results based on contingency tests indicate that the application of the ELF signal embedded in the VLF waveform signal is a good proxy to depict the polarity signal of sferics measurements, i.e., high confidence levels show strong association of agreement between ZEUS and RINDAT networks.