Predicting lightning-driven quasi-electrostatic fields at sprite altitudes using in situ measurements and a numerical model (original) (raw)
Related papers
Observations of the relationship between sprite morphology and in-cloud lightning processes
Journal of Geophysical Research, 2006
, 15 sprites were captured by a LLTV camera mounted at the observatory on Pic du Midi in the French Pyrénées. Simultaneous observations of cloud-to-ground (CG) and intracloud (IC) lightning activity from two independent lightning detection systems and a broadband ELF/VLF receiver allow a detailed study of the relationship between electrical activity in a thunderstorm and the sprites generated in the mesosphere above. Results suggest that positive CG and IC lightning differ for the two types of sprites most frequently observed, the carrot-and column-shaped sprites. Column sprites occur after a short delay (<30 ms) from the causative +CG and are associated with little VHF activity, suggesting no direct IC action on the charge transfer process. On the other hand, carrot sprites are delayed up to about 200 ms relative to their causative +CG stroke and are accompanied by a burst of VHF activity starting 25-75 ms before the CG stroke. While column sprites associate with short-lasting (less than 30 ms) ELF/VLF sferics, carrot sprites associate with bursts of sferics initiating at the time of the causative +CG discharge and persisting for 50 to 250 ms, indicating extensive in-cloud activity. One carrot event was found to be preceded by vigorous IC activity and a strong, long-lived cluster of ELF/VLF sferics but lacking a +CG. The observations of ELF/VLF sferic clusters associated with lightning and sprites form the basis for a discussion of the reliability of lightning detection systems based on VHF interferometry.
The contribution of sprites to the global atmospheric electric circuit
Earth Planets and Space, 2006
The global static electric field in the global atmospheric electric circuit resulting from mesospheric sprite discharges is inferred from a coupled model for the global static and dynamic electric fields derived from Maxwell's equations. It is found that the global atmospheric electric field from individual sprites is ≲ 44 mV/m, which can be measured with conventional ULF/ELF radio wave antennas at frequencies ≲ 4 Hz.
Characteristics of lightning flashes generating sprites above storms
E3S Web of Conferences, 2016
Sprites are Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) that can extend vertically from 40 to 90 km and horizontally over several tens of km to form clusters of individual or multiple column or/and carrot-shaped luminous elements. They can even extend over more than 100 km in the form of sequential luminous emissions that are called "dancing sprites". Their optical detection and other parameters describing the storm and the lightning activity associated allow us to understand the conditions of their production and their links with the lightning activity. Our observations confirm some characteristics of the sprites and put forward others: (i) the sprites are essentially produced above the stratiform region of the Mesoscale Convective Systems after positive cloud-to-ground lightning flashes that produce large Charge Moment Change (CMC), with a shorter delay if the impulsive CMC (iCMC) is larger. (ii) The dancing sprites reflect the timing and the location of the successive lightning strokes that generate them. (iii) The sprite elements can be shifted from the stroke location when their delay is large. (iv) Bright sprites produce current signatures in ELF radiation a few milliseconds (<5 ms) after the positive strokes that generate them.
Monthly Weather Review, 2003
During the summer of 2000, the Severe Thunderstorm Electrification and Precipitation Study (STEPS) program deployed a three-dimensional Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) near Goodland, Kansas. Video confirmation of sprites triggered by lightning within storms traversing the LMA domain were coordinated with extremely low frequency (ELF) transient measurements in Rhode Island and North Carolina. Two techniques of estimating changes in vertical charge moment (M q) yielded averages of ϳ800 and ϳ950 C km for 13 sprite-parent positive polarity cloud-to-ground strokes (ϩCGs). Analyses of the LMA's very high frequency (VHF) lightning emissions within the two mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) show that ϩCGs did not produce sprites until the centroid of the maximum density of lightning radiation emissions dropped from the upper part of the storm (7-11.5 km AGL) to much lower altitudes (2-5 km AGL). The average height of charge removal (Z q) from 15 sprite-parent ϩCGs during the late mature phase of one MCS was 4.1 km AGL. Thus, the total charges lowered by spriteparent ϩCGs were on the order of 200 C. The regional 0ЊC isotherm was located at about 4.0 km AGL. This suggests a possible linkage between sprite-parent CGs and melting-layer/brightband charge production mechanisms in MCS stratiform precipitation regions. These cases are supportive of the conceptual MCS spriteproduction models previously proposed by two of the authors (Lyons and Williams).
Evidence for continuing current in sprite-producing cloud-to-ground lightning
Geophysical Research Letters, 1996
Radio atmospherics launched by spriteproducing positive cloud-to-ground lightning flashes and observed at Palmer Station, Antarctica, exhibit large ELF slow tails following the initial VLF portion, indicating the presence of continuing currents in the source lightning flashes. niometry method is based on the Fourier Transform of a function whose real part is BNS and whose imaginary part is BEv\,. The phase of the transform represents the direction of arrival as a function of frequency. The arrival azimuth of a given sferic is computed over the 5.5 kHz to 9.5 kHz band, weighted by the magnitude of the signal at each frequency. This frequency range is selected as one in which multiple cycles of the waveform are available within the duration of
Journal of Geophysical Research, 2011
1] A quantitative model of the global atmospheric electric circuit has been constructed using the PSpice electrical engineering software package. Currents (∼1 kA) above thunderstorms and electrified rain/shower clouds raise the potential of the ionosphere (presumed to be an equipotential surface at 80 km altitude) to ∼250 kV with respect to the Earth's surface. The circuit is completed by currents flowing down through the fair-weather atmosphere in the land/sea surface and up to the cloud systems. Using a model for the atmospheric conductivity profile, the effects of both negative and positive cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning discharges on the ionospheric potential have been estimated. A large positive CG discharge creates an electric field that exceeds the breakdown field from the ionosphere down to ∼74 km, thereby forming a halo, a column sprite, and some milliseconds later, from ∼67 km down to ∼55 km at ∼60 ms after the discharge, a "carrot" sprite. Estimates are made of the return stroke current and the thundercloud charge moment change of a +CG discharge required to exceed the threshold breakdown field, or the threshold field for creating and sustaining negative or positive streamers. The values for breakdown at 80 km altitude are 35 kA and 350 C.km, (Coulomb.kilometers), respectively, and those at 70 km altitude are 45 kA and 360 C.km, respectively. The different temporal and spatial developments of the mesospheric electric field distinguishing between column and carrot sprites agree with the latest deductions from recent observations. The current flowing in the highly conducting sprite reduces the ionospheric potential by ∼1 V.
Coordinated observations of sprites and in-cloud lightning flash structure
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 2013
The temporal and spatial development of sprite-producing lightning flashes is examined with coordinated observations over an asymmetric mesoscale convective system (MCS) on 29 June 2011 near the Oklahoma Lightning Mapping Array (LMA). Sprites produced by a total of 26 lightning flashes were observed simultaneously on video from Bennett, Colorado and Hawley, Texas, enabling a triangulation of sprites in comparison with temporal development of parent lightning (in particular, negatively charged stepped leaders) in three-dimensional space. In general, prompt sprites produced within 20 ms after the causative stroke are less horizontally displaced (typically <30 km) from the ground stroke than delayed sprites, which usually occur over 40 ms after the stroke with significant lateral offsets (>30 km). However, both prompt and delayed sprites are usually centered within 30 km of the geometric center of relevant LMA sources (with affinity to negative stepped leaders) during the prior 100 ms interval. Multiple sprites appearing as dancing/jumping events associated with a single lightning flash could be produced either by distinct strokes of the flash, by a single stroke through a series of current surges superposed on an intense continuing current, or by both. Our observations imply that sprites elongated in one direction are sometimes linked to in-cloud leader structure with the same elongation, and sprites that were more symmetric were produced above the progression of multiple negative leaders. This suggests that the large-scale structure of sprites could be affected by the in-cloud geometry of positive charge removal. Based on an expanded dataset of 39 sprite-parent flashes by including more sprites recorded by one single camera over the same MCS, the altitude (above mean sea level, MSL) of positively charged cloud region tapped by sprite-producing strokes declined gradually from~10 km MSL (À35 C) to around 6 km MSL (À10 C) as the MCS evolved through the mature stage. On average, the positive charge removal by causative strokes of sprites observed on 29 June is centered at 3.6 km above the freezing level or at 7.9 km above ground level.
2010
A quantitative model of the global atmospheric electric circuit has been constructed using the PSpice electrical engineering software package. Currents (~ 1 kA) above thunderstorms and electrified rain/shower clouds raise the potential of the ionosphere, which is presumed to be an equipotential surface at 80 km altitude, to ~ 250 kV with respect to the Earth's surface. The circuit is completed by currents flowing down through the fair weather atmosphere, in the land/sea surface and up to the cloud systems. Using a model for the atmospheric conductivity profile (Rycroft et al., JASTP, 2007), the effects of both negative and positive cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning discharges ion the ionospheric potential have been estimated. A large positive CG discharge creates an electric field which exceeds the breakdown field from the ionosphere down to ~ 74 km, so forming a halo and a column sprite, and, some ms later, from ~ 67 km down to ~ 55 km at ~ 60 ms after the discharge, thereby forming a "carrot" sprite. Estimates are made of the return stroke current and the thundercloud charge moment change (CMC) for a +CG discharge required to exceed the threshold breakdown field, or the threshold field for creating and sustaining negative or positive streamers. The values for breakdown at 80 km altitude are 35 kA and 350 C.km, respectively, and 45 kA and 360 C.km at 70 km altitude. The different temporal and spatial developments of the mesospheric electric field distinguishing between column and carrot sprites agree with the latest deductions from from recent observations. A current flowing in the highly conducting sprite reduces the ionospheric potential by ~ 1 V.
Terrestrial, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, 2017
We examined the broadband (< 1 Hz to 30 kHz) lightning sferics associated with 395 sprites observed near North America by the Imager of Sprites and Upper Atmospheric Lightning (ISUAL) onboard the FORMOSAT-2 satellite in a 12-year period from 2004-2015. Our analysis indicates that the ISUAL dataset contains a significant fraction (69, or ~18%) of negative sprites, which were predominantly (> 80%) observed over oceanic and coastal thunderstorms mostly in tropical areas. The mean and median of impulse charge moment change (iCMC) associated with positive (negative) sprites are +346 C km (-709 C km) and +280 C km (-649 C km), respectively. The morphology and parent lightning properties (e.g., typically with high peak currents >-80 kA and large iCMCs >-300 C km) of negative sprites observed by the ISUAL are generally consistent with that documented in ground-based observations, but the ISUAL dataset does imply that sprites are sometimes produced by negative strokes with sub-critical iCMCs (less than-300 C km). Consequently, the future survey of global occurrence of sprites is desired to be based on complementary ground and space-borne observations.