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I was given the following problem/question as a part of my homework in physics:

It is raining with thunder in Australia, and the lightnings generate transverse Alfven waves in the ionospheric plasma. These waves propagate along the magnetic field of the Earth. What signals from these waves will be heard in Kamchatka?

How can I answer this question? I tried searching in Google, but the only relevant materials I found are complicated research articles, so I could not find any clear answer to that question. In the lecture notes, I see only a general theory of Alfven waves. I think I understand the theory, but I don't see how I can answer the question.

Since it is only one of many problems in my homework, the answer is supposed to be either a short qualitative answer or some quantitative formula derived from uncomplicated calculations, that is, it is not something that requires a lot of work and research.

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  • $\begingroup$ Have you looked up articles on transmission, absorption, refraction, and reflection in the ionosphere? That is, some will get through, some will not on both sides. The question is why. $\endgroup$
    – honeste_vivere
    Commented Jun 2, 2021 at 17:06

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There is a plasma-wave mode called the Whistler wave, which got its name from the whistle-like audible chirp that can be heard in certain radio receivers. The cause of the chirp is the dispersion of the frequencies generated from a (temporally) short burst of electromagnetic radiation, e.g. form a distant lightning strike.

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