Asymmetric resonance curves are observed in various resonance systems occurring in nature. The reason for such a shape of the resonance curves is an interaction of the standing waves field in the resonator with the field of traveling waves which transmit energy from sources to the resonator. This behavior can be observed in strongly damped electromagnetic resonators. The ELF wave propagation inside the Earth-ionosphere cavity is a good example of the simultaneous occurrence of resonance and transmission phenomena. In this paper we show that the transmission field component depends on the attenuation rate of the Earth-ionosphere cavity and the observer-source distance. Besides, the resonance curve asymmetry causes an evident diurnal variability of the resonance frequencies. The superposition of the two components at any point of the resonator makes the analysis of the Schumann resonance (SR) difficult. Here we suggest a field decomposition method that allows separating the resonance component from the transmission one. Owing to the decomposition, having a single measurement of the E or B field, it is possible, independently of the observer position, to study the physical properties of the resonator as well as to determine the localization and the intensity of sources. The field decomposition permits defining new resonator parameters such as reduced resonance frequencies and reduced quality factors, independent of the observer position inside the cavity. We believe that the application of the decomposition method in the analysis of the ELF observations yields a possibility of improving the accuracy of the determination of both the distances and intensities of the sources exciting the Earth-ionosphere resonator, as well as its own parameters.