Bipolar lightning in winter at Maki, Japan

Narita, Kentaro; Goto, Yukihiro; Komuro, Hiroshi; Sawada, Shin-ichi

doi:10.1029/jd094id11p13191

Cited by 42 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…This is because positive ICC was flowing before the onset of pulse #1. A lot of bipolar upward flashes with large charge transfer have been observed in the coastal area of the Sea of Japan, as were reported in [5], [6] and [7]. There is a possibility in the future that such upward flashes will be also observed at Tokyo Skytree in winter season.…”

Section: Observed Lightning Currentsmentioning

confidence: 70%

Upward and downward lightning observed at Tokyo Skytree

Miki

Saito

Shindo

et al. 2014

2014 International Conference on Lightning Protection (ICLP)

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This paper describes observations of lightning current waveform at Tokyo Skytree, which stands in the eastern area of central Tokyo, located in the Kanto Plain, and is a 634-m high freestanding broadcasting tower. Direct observation of lightning current by using a pair of Rogowski coils started in the end of February 2012. From 2012 to the end of 2013, currents associated with 24 lightning flashes which hit the tower were recorded. In 2012, most of the flashes were upward as was expected; however, in 2013, most of the flashes observed in summer were downward. We have also evaluated statistical characteristics of obtained lightning current waveforms.

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Section: Observed Lightning Currentsmentioning

confidence: 70%

Upward and downward lightning observed at Tokyo Skytree

Miki

Saito

Shindo

et al. 2014

2014 International Conference on Lightning Protection (ICLP)

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“…4. It is likely that the explanation of bipolar current wave shapes suggested by Narita et al (1989) for winter lightning also applies to summer bipolar lightning.…”

Section: Adapted From Narita Et Al (1989)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For winter lightning in Japan, Narita et al (1989) suggested that, in a bipolar discharge, currents of both polarities follow the same channel to the ground, but from different, oppositely charged regions in the cloud, as illustrated in Fig. 4.…”

Section: Adapted From Narita Et Al (1989)mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Positive and Bipolar Lightning Discharges

Rakov¹

2003

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

133

102

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Characteristics of lightning discharges that transport either positive charge or both positive and negative charges to the ground are reviewed. These are termed positive and bipolar lightning discharges, respectively. Different types of positive and bipolar lightning are discussed. Although positive lightning discharges account for 10% or less of global cloud-to-ground lightning activity, there are five situations that appear to be conducive to the more frequent occurrence of positive lightning. These situations include 1) the dissipating stage of an individual thunderstorm, 2) winter thunderstorms, 3) trailing stratiform regions of mesoscale convective systems, 4) some severe storms, and 5) thunderclouds formed over forest fires or contaminated by smoke. The highest directly measured lightning currents (near 300 kA) and the largest charge transfers (hundreds of coulombs or more) are thought to be associated with positive lightning. Two types of impulsive positive current waveforms have been observed. One type is characterized by rise times of the order of 10 μs, comparable to those for first strokes in negative lightning, and the other type is characterized by considerably longer rise times, up to hundreds of microseconds. The latter waveforms are apparently associated with very long, 1–2 km, upward negative connecting leaders. The positive return-stroke speed is of the order of 108 m s−1. Positive flashes are usually composed of a single stroke. Positive return strokes often appear to be preceded by significant in-cloud discharge activity, then followed by continuing currents, and involve long horizontal channels. In contrast to negative leaders, which are always optically stepped when they propagate in virgin air, positive leaders seem to be able to move either continuously or in a stepped fashion. The reported percentage of bipolar flashes in summer storms ranges from 6% to 14% and from 5% to 33% in winter storms. Bipolar lightning discharges are usually initiated by upward leaders from tall objects. It appears that positive and negative charge sources in the cloud are tapped by different upward branches of the bipolar-lightning channel.

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“…The bipolar feature was also observed in natural winter lightning in Japan. Narita et al [5] found that nine of 45 cases were bipolar from current records by using digital recording system which consists of five Rogowsky type coils installed on the tower. Currents of the bipolar lightning were generally relatively small.…”

Section: Triggered Lightning In the Northern Chinamentioning

confidence: 99%